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Key Scriptures: John 11:1–44, John 9:1–3, Lamentations 3:31–33, and Romans 8:28.
A QUESTION WE MUST ASK
Dear Kingdom Citizens, Have you ever heard someone say, “God is allowing you to suffer because He wants to demonstrate His power through your situation”?
Perhaps you have heard a preacher say that God will allow your situation to become worse before He intervenes, so that everyone will know that He alone deserves the glory.
When someone survives a terrible accident, we praise God for deliverance. When a sick person recovers, we celebrate His healing power. When someone escapes a difficult situation, we testify about His faithfulness.
But this raises an important question.
Does God need us to suffer before He can demonstrate His greatness? Must our situations become desperate before He acts? Does He sometimes withhold help simply because He wants people to see how powerful He is?
These questions deserve serious biblical examination.
We must not accept a teaching simply because it sounds spiritual or offers an explanation for a painful experience. We must examine what Scripture says, distinguish God’s revealed character from our assumptions, and remain humble where the Bible does not provide a complete explanation.
Here is the central question of this teaching:
If God is already powerful, loving, and sovereign, why would He need human suffering to prove His greatness?
1. GOD’S GREATNESS DOES NOT DEPEND ON HUMAN SUFFERING
Psalm 145:3 declares:
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” (KJV)
God’s greatness is not something He acquires through miracles.
He was not less powerful before He healed the sick. He did not become more powerful when He raised Lazarus from the dead. His authority does not increase when He delivers someone from danger.
God’s greatness belongs to His nature.
This truth should influence how we speak about suffering.
Sometimes, we describe painful situations as though God needs them to become worse before His power becomes visible. We speak as though a greater tragedy gives God an opportunity to perform a greater miracle.
But where does Scripture establish this as a universal principle?
The Bible records occasions when God revealed His power through extraordinary deliverance. It also records occasions when He provided wisdom, prevented danger, strengthened people in weakness, and sustained them through difficult circumstances.
God’s power is not limited to dramatic rescues.
If someone avoids a dangerous situation, we have reason to be thankful. If a family remains healthy, we have reason to praise God. If two people resolve a conflict before it destroys their relationship, we have reason to recognize the value of wisdom, peace, and reconciliation.
We should not wait until something terrible happens before acknowledging God’s goodness.
His greatness is not measured by the amount of suffering that precedes a miracle.
God does not need our pain to become powerful. He is already powerful.
2. WHAT DOES THE STORY OF LAZARUS REALLY TEACH US?
John 11 is one of the most frequently discussed passages concerning divine delay and human suffering.
Lazarus was sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus.
John 11:3 says:
“Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.” (KJV)
Notice the language they used. They appealed to Jesus on the basis of His love for Lazarus.
They did not question whether Jesus cared about him. They expected His response because of their relationship with Him.
Yet Jesus did not immediately travel to Bethany.
John 11:6 records:
“When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.” (KJV)
By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.
Martha expressed what many people feel when God does not intervene as expected.
John 11:21 says:
“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” (KJV)
Her statement reveals the pain of a person who believes that an earlier intervention would have changed everything.
How many people have asked similar questions?
“If God had intervened earlier, would I have suffered so much?”
“If He knew what was happening, why did He not stop it?”
“If He loved me, why did He allow the situation to reach this point?”
These are serious questions. We should not silence them with easy religious answers.
Jesus explained that the situation would reveal God’s glory. The raising of Lazarus demonstrated His authority over death and pointed to His identity as the resurrection and the life.
But we must read the passage carefully.
John 11:5–6 connects Jesus’ love for the family with His decision to remain where He was for two more days. The passage does not present a simple explanation for every form of suffering. It records a particular event with a particular purpose in Jesus’ ministry.
We should therefore avoid turning Lazarus’s experience into a universal rule that God always waits until people suffer terribly before He intervenes.
The story demonstrates Jesus’ authority over death. It does not establish that every tragedy is deliberately prolonged so that God can receive greater recognition.
There is another detail we must not overlook.
John 11:35 says:
“Jesus wept.” (KJV)
Jesus knew what He was about to do, yet He wept in the presence of grief.
His tears remind us that the story is not simply about a demonstration of power. It also reveals His response to human sorrow.
We must hold these truths together.
Jesus has authority over death. Jesus revealed God’s glory. Jesus also entered the grief of those who had lost someone they loved.
The story of Lazarus reveals Christ’s power, but it does not give us permission to claim that God enjoys watching people suffer.
3. DOES GOD CAUSE SUFFERING SO THAT HE CAN LATER HEAL US?
Consider the man who was born blind in John 9.
When Jesus’ disciples saw him, they asked whether his blindness resulted from his own sin or the sin of his parents.
John 9:3 records Jesus’ answer:
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (KJV)
Jesus rejected the assumption that the man’s condition could be explained by a particular sin committed by him or his parents.
The encounter eventually became an occasion for the manifestation of God’s works through Jesus.
However, we must be careful about the conclusion we draw.
Jesus did not explicitly state that God had caused the man’s blindness at birth so that He could heal him many years later.
The passage tells us what Jesus intended to do in that encounter. It does not provide a complete explanation for every case of blindness or every instance of suffering.
There is a difference between saying that God can reveal His works through a painful situation and claiming that God deliberately created the suffering for the sole purpose of displaying His power.
The first statement is supported by the biblical account. The second requires an additional assumption.
Kingdom Citizens must learn to distinguish between what Scripture says and what we add to it.
When someone recovers from an illness, we can thank God for the recovery without claiming that God caused the illness in order to receive praise later.
When someone escapes danger, we can celebrate the deliverance without declaring that God deliberately placed the person in danger to demonstrate His authority.
God’s ability to bring good out of suffering does not prove that He caused the suffering.
4. DOES GOD TAKE PLEASURE IN HUMAN SUFFERING?
Lamentations 3:31–33 gives us an important perspective.
Verse 33 says:
“For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” (KJV)
The surrounding passage acknowledges judgment, grief, and the possibility of restoration. It does not deny that Scripture sometimes describes God as permitting or bringing judgment.
However, verse 33 cautions us against portraying the infliction of grief as something God delights in.
Consider the difference between a person who enjoys causing pain and a person who responds to suffering with compassion.
These are different pictures of character.
Throughout Scripture, God is revealed as merciful and compassionate. Psalm 103:13 compares His compassion toward those who fear Him to the compassion of a father toward his children.
Jesus also demonstrated compassion toward people who were sick, grieving, hungry, and oppressed.
He healed the sick, fed hungry people, and wept with those who mourned.
These accounts should influence how we interpret passages about suffering.
We must not build a picture of God in which He deliberately prolongs every painful experience because He enjoys the opportunity to demonstrate His power afterward.
The Bible does not support such a universal conclusion.
There are occasions when Scripture connects suffering with divine judgment, discipline, persecution, or the consequences of human decisions. There are also occasions when the reason for suffering is not fully explained.
We should not pretend that every situation has the same cause.
Neither should we attribute every tragedy directly to God’s intention.
God’s power must be understood alongside His character. We must never use His sovereignty as an excuse to portray Him as indifferent to human pain.
5. IF GOD CAN PREVENT SUFFERING, WHY DOES HE SOMETIMES ALLOW IT?
This is the most difficult question in this discussion.
If God knows everything, has authority over creation, and cares about humanity, why does He not prevent every tragedy?
Why do children suffer? Why do faithful people experience painful illnesses? Why do some people escape accidents while others die? Why do some prayers appear to receive immediate answers while others remain unanswered?
We should not pretend that one verse provides a complete answer to every one of these questions.
Scripture presents several dimensions of suffering.
First, human beings make choices, and those choices sometimes harm others. Violence, exploitation, betrayal, and injustice cause real suffering.
Second, people experience the consequences of living in a world where sickness, death, and other forms of hardship occur.
Third, Scripture describes suffering associated with persecution, divine discipline, and judgment.
Fourth, some biblical accounts present suffering whose full explanation is not immediately apparent. The book of Job is a powerful example.
Job’s friends assumed that his suffering must be explained by his wrongdoing. Yet the book challenges their simplistic conclusions.
In Job 42:7, God rebukes Job’s friends because they had not spoken rightly about Him as Job had.
Their mistake warns us against claiming to know the reason for another person’s suffering when Scripture has not revealed it.
We must also recognize the limits of our understanding.
We know that God is powerful. We know that Scripture reveals His love and righteousness. But we do not know the complete explanation for every event in human history.
We should distinguish between what God has revealed and what remains unknown.
Does God sometimes permit suffering for purposes we do not fully understand? Scripture gives us reasons to answer yes.
Does that mean every painful event was deliberately arranged by God so that He could demonstrate His power? No. Scripture does not establish that conclusion.
Faith does not require us to invent explanations for every tragedy. It requires us to remain faithful to what God has revealed, even when we do not understand everything He permits.
6. GOD CAN BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL WITHOUT CALLING EVIL GOOD
Genesis 50:20 records Joseph’s words to his brothers:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (KJV)
Joseph had experienced betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment.
His brothers had sold him because of their jealousy.
Years later, Joseph recognized that God had worked through the events to preserve many lives during a famine.
Notice the distinction Joseph made.
His brothers intended evil. God brought good out of what they had done.
Joseph did not need to declare his brothers’ actions righteous in order to recognize God’s providence.
This is an important principle for believers.
Sometimes people experience terrible injustice and later use their experiences to help others. A person who has survived an illness might support others facing the same condition. Someone who has experienced betrayal might develop greater wisdom in relationships. Someone who has suffered persecution might become a courageous witness to truth.
Good can emerge from painful experiences.
But the good that follows does not automatically make the original harm good.
We should never tell victims of abuse, injustice, or violence that they ought to celebrate what happened because God might use it for a greater purpose.
We can acknowledge God’s ability to redeem a situation without minimizing the wrongdoing involved.
Romans 8:28 assures believers that God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
It does not say that everything that happens is good.
It does not say that God is the direct cause of every painful event.
It gives believers confidence in God’s work amid circumstances they do not fully understand.
God’s power is demonstrated not only in preventing evil, but also in His ability to bring good out of situations intended for harm.
7. WHY DO WE CELEBRATE DELIVERANCE MORE THAN PRESERVATION?
Imagine two people.
The first is involved in a serious accident but survives.
The second travels the same road and reaches home safely without experiencing an accident.
The first person testifies about survival and gives thanks to God.
The second person also has reason to give thanks for a safe journey.
We must be careful about claiming to know every hidden reason behind either person’s experience. We do not know whether a particular event was directly prevented by divine intervention.
Nevertheless, both experiences remind us of the value of life and the importance of gratitude.
We often recognize God’s goodness more readily when we experience a dramatic rescue.
But what about the dangers we never encountered? What about the conflicts that were resolved before they became destructive? What about the wisdom that helped us avoid a harmful decision?
We should cultivate gratitude for preservation as well as deliverance.
Psalm 121:8 declares:
“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (KJV)
This verse expresses confidence in God’s preserving care.
It should encourage us to trust Him in daily life, not to assume that faithful people will never encounter hardship.
The lesson is not that every safe journey proves a miracle occurred invisibly. Rather, we have good reason to be grateful for life, safety, wisdom, and the care we receive.
We do not need a tragedy before we have a reason to praise God.
A life preserved from danger is worthy of gratitude, even when no dramatic miracle occurs.
8. THE CROSS REVEALS GOD’S POWER AND LOVE
The death and resurrection of Jesus provide another essential perspective.
At the cross, Jesus suffered injustice, humiliation, and physical pain.
Those who mocked Him challenged Him to save Himself.
Matthew 27:42 records their words:
“He saved others; himself he cannot save.” (KJV)
They interpreted His suffering as evidence of weakness.
But the New Testament presents His death and resurrection within God’s redemptive purpose.
Jesus willingly gave Himself, and His resurrection revealed His victory over death.
This does not mean that every human tragedy should be compared directly with the crucifixion or that every suffering person must experience a similar outcome.
Jesus’ death occupies a unique place in the biblical account of redemption.
However, the cross teaches us that God’s work cannot always be understood by looking only at immediate circumstances.
What appeared to be defeat became central to the Christian proclamation of salvation.
God’s glory is revealed through righteousness, sacrificial love, and victory over death, not merely through spectacular displays of physical power.
We should therefore avoid measuring God’s greatness only by the speed with which He removes our difficulties.
Sometimes He delivers people from suffering. Sometimes believers endure suffering while remaining faithful. Sometimes people die, and their loved ones are left grieving.
Our hope rests in the God revealed through Jesus Christ, whose resurrection points beyond death itself.
God’s greatness is not measured by how much pain we endure before He acts. It is revealed through His character, His purposes, and His victory over sin and death.
9. WHAT SHOULD KINGDOM CITIZENS BELIEVE ABOUT SUFFERING?
After examining these Scriptures, we should hold several truths together.
First, God is powerful. His authority does not depend on human suffering.
Second, God is compassionate. We should not portray Him as taking pleasure in human misery.
Third, God can reveal His glory through difficult situations. The story of Lazarus demonstrates this clearly.
Fourth, not every painful experience has an explanation explicitly revealed in Scripture. We must avoid claiming certainty where God has not provided it.
Fifth, God can bring good out of evil without making the evil itself righteous.
Sixth, prayer remains important, but we should not treat suffering as automatic proof that someone failed to pray or lacked faith.
Seventh, God’s goodness deserves recognition in preservation, provision, wisdom, healing, deliverance, and the strength He gives people during hardship.
Finally, we must respond to suffering with compassion.
When someone is grieving, our first responsibility is not to deliver a complicated theory about why God allowed the tragedy.
We should listen, comfort, support, and help where we are able.
Job’s friends initially sat with him in silence for seven days because his suffering was great (Job 2:13). Their later attempts to explain his suffering became a source of additional pain.
Their story warns us that an explanation offered without wisdom can hurt someone who is already suffering.
Let us become people who speak truth with compassion.
Let us refuse to condemn those who are hurting.
And let us avoid presenting our personal interpretations as though God has explicitly revealed them.
GOD DOES NOT NEED YOUR PAIN TO PROVE HIS POWER
Dear Kingdom Citizens,
We began with a question: Does God need our suffering to prove His power?
The Scriptures examined in this teaching do not support the idea that God must deliberately make people suffer or withhold help simply to demonstrate His greatness.
God sometimes reveals His glory through deliverance from painful circumstances. He also sustains people through suffering and brings good out of situations intended for harm.
But we must not turn these biblical truths into a universal claim that every tragedy is deliberately arranged to create an opportunity for a miracle.
We must distinguish God’s ability to redeem suffering from the assumption that He directly caused every instance of it.
We must distinguish divine sovereignty from the claim that we know exactly why every event occurs.
And we must distinguish faith in God’s goodness from the pressure to explain every painful experience.
If God heals someone, give thanks.
If God provides a way out of danger, give thanks.
If you have enjoyed a season of peace and health, give thanks.
If you are suffering and do not understand why, do not conclude that God has abandoned you or that you must have failed Him.
Seek help. Receive support. Pray honestly. Continue to examine Scripture. Trust God while acknowledging that some questions remain unanswered.
We do not have to understand every event to recognize that Scripture calls us to walk in faith, love, truth, and hope.
God’s greatness does not begin when our suffering becomes unbearable.
His power does not increase when our problems become more complicated.
And His character should never be judged solely by whether He removes every difficulty according to our preferred timetable.
Let us stop measuring God’s greatness by the severity of the suffering that precedes deliverance. Let us learn to recognize His goodness without requiring a tragedy to remind us of His power.
A FINAL WORD
The purpose of Bible study is not to defend every popular explanation of God’s actions. It is to understand what Scripture teaches and allow that truth to shape our beliefs.
Let us test our interpretations, speak carefully about suffering, and refuse to burden hurting people with explanations God has not given us.
May we become Kingdom Citizens who know the Word, reflect God’s character, and walk in truth and love.