--- title: What Does the Bible Say About Suffering and Evil? description: Our God is not only sovereign over suffering, our God not only solves the problem of evil; He is the one who redeems our suffering. image: https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/blog_photo_8.18.26.png --- [![The Master's Seminary](https://blog.tms.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/The_Masters_Seminary_July2019/Images/tms-logo-new.png?width=210&name=tms-logo-new.png)](https://www.tms.edu) [Request Info](https://www.tms.edu/request) - [About](https://www.tms.edu/about/) - [Why TMS?](https://www.tms.edu/why-tms/) - [Academics](https://www.tms.edu/academics/) - [Faculty](https://www.tms.edu/academics/faculty/) - [Admissions & Aid](https://www.tms.edu/admissions/) - [Educational Resources](https://www.tms.edu/resources/) - [Español](https://www.tms.edu/es/) - [Give](https://tms.edu/ways-to-give/) - [Apply](https://www.tms.edu/apply/) - [Request Info](https://www.tms.edu/requestinfo/) × [![The Masters Seminary Blog](https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/The%20Masters%20Seminary%20Blog%20Logo-01%20(2)-1.svg "The Masters Seminary Blog")](https://blog.tms.edu/) Search [Theology](https://blog.tms.edu/tag/theology) # What Does the Bible Say About Suffering and Evil? Estimated Reading Time: [Abner Chou](https://blog.tms.edu/author/abner-chou) | August 26, 2026 What does the Bible say about suffering and evil in this world? When we think about the issue of suffering and evil in this world, it's a massive topic. It's one that those who oppose Christianity use to object to the existence of God and the reality of the Bible. And for those who are believers, it's a massive question that we struggle with, particularly when we're in trial. The Scripture reminds us, first of all, that God is absolutely sovereign, and in His total sovereignty, He ordained that man was responsible for bringing sin and evil into this world by one man's disobedience. That's found in Romans 5 and Genesis 3. If someone might say, "Well, could just one act, one small sin, be so terrible that it would cause such devastation?" What we need to understand is that rebellion and treason against God *is* a serious matter, and the consequences of suffering remind us of the devastation and the terrible nature of sin. But the God who is sovereign over all things is sovereign not only over the way that sin came into this world but the way to solve the nature of sin. He ordained an entire plan culminating in the cross, in the death and resurrection of His own Son, to deal with the root issue of all evil and sin, our wickedness against God. He ordained that the Lord Jesus would come and be everything that we could not be and take our sins in His own body on the tree so that we can be right with God. That deals fundamentally with sin and evil and suffering in this world. So for the believer, suffering can be redeemed. It is that which refines us. It is that which makes us more like Christ. And it is that which actually amplifies the sufficiency, majesty, glory, and power of our Savior. So our God is not only sovereign over suffering, our God not only solves the problem of evil; He is the one who redeems our suffering. The hope of all of this is that in the end, Christ will return. And when He returns, He will make all things right. Everything in this world will be reconfigured. Everything in this life, in existence, will be realigned, such that everything will be made right and according to its original purpose. Every tear will be wiped away. Forever, we will remember the God who dealt with our sin and dealt with all suffering and evil and ushered us into eternal righteousness, a universe where only righteousness dwells. That's what the Bible has to say about suffering and evil. And to anybody who's a skeptic and says, "Well, what does your God do? Does He really have justification for what He does?" We need to remind them of two important truths. One, *where did you even get the idea that suffering and evil were bad to begin with?* And two, *do you have a better plan?* The answer to those questions is that people don't, but the Bible does. And that testifies to its sufficiency. --- [![Abner Chou](https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/Chou-A-300x300.jpg)](https://blog.tms.edu/author/abner-chou) [Abner Chou](https://blog.tms.edu/author/abner-chou) Dr. Abner Chou began teaching Greek at The Master's University in 2004 and continues to teach both at the university and seminary. 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