Call us now:
Does God deliberately allow us to suffer, delay His intervention, and then rescue us simply to demonstrate His greatness and power? Or have we misunderstood His ways?
My answer is that God sometimes allows suffering and uses it to reveal His glory, but Scripture does not teach that God deliberately makes His children suffer simply to show off His power.
There is an important difference between God allowing suffering, God causing suffering, and God using suffering for His purposes.
1. God Does Not Need Our Suffering to Prove His Greatness
God was already great before humanity existed.
Psalm 145:3 (KJV) says:
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”
God does not become greater when He heals the sick, delivers the oppressed, or rescues someone from danger.
His greatness is eternal.
Therefore, the idea that God must first allow someone to suffer terribly before demonstrating His power gives an incomplete picture of His character.
God’s greatness is also revealed through His love, mercy, kindness, patience, and faithfulness.
He does not need to destroy someone’s peace to prove that He is powerful.
2. The Story of Lazarus Is Often Misunderstood
Consider John 11:4 (KJV):
“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”
Jesus knew Lazarus was sick, yet He remained where He was for two more days.
When Jesus eventually arrived, Lazarus had already died.
Jesus raised him from the dead.
Some preachers use this story to teach that God deliberately delays His intervention until our situations become unbearable so that everyone will recognize His power.
But we must examine the entire passage.
In John 11:35, we read:
“Jesus wept.”
If Jesus was simply waiting for an opportunity to demonstrate His power, why did He weep?
His tears reveal His compassion in the presence of human suffering.
Although Jesus knew He would raise Lazarus, He was not indifferent to the grief surrounding Him.
The passage teaches that Jesus has authority over death and that His actions reveal God’s glory.
However, it does not establish a universal rule that God deliberately delays every deliverance to make human suffering more dramatic.
That would be reading more into the passage than it says.
3. Jesus Rejected the Assumption That Suffering Always Has a Particular Divine Purpose
In John 9:1–3, Jesus encountered a man who had been blind from birth.
His disciples asked:
“Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered:
“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
This passage is particularly important.
The disciples assumed that the man’s suffering must have resulted from someone’s sin.
Jesus rejected that explanation.
Instead, He directed their attention toward what God would do.
Notice something important.
Jesus did not explicitly say that God made the man blind in order to heal him years later.
He revealed that God’s works would become visible through the man’s situation.
There is a difference between saying:
“God made this man blind so that He could demonstrate His power.”
And saying:
“Although this man was born blind, God’s power will be revealed through his healing.”
These statements are not identical.
The second interpretation avoids attributing the man’s blindness directly to God without clear biblical evidence.
4. Not Every Painful Experience Is Designed by God
Jesus said in John 16:33:
“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Notice that Jesus did not say every tribulation would be personally arranged by God.
We experience suffering for different reasons.
- Some suffering comes from human wickedness.
- Some results from our own decisions.
- Some comes through sickness and the conditions of mortal life.
- Some comes through persecution for righteousness.
- Some involves divine discipline.
- Some remains unexplained.
The book of Job demonstrates that suffering cannot always be explained by personal wrongdoing.
Job’s friends repeatedly tried to explain his suffering through their assumptions about God.
Yet God eventually rebuked them for failing to speak rightly about Him (Job 42:7).
This should make us careful about declaring that we know why someone is suffering.
5. God Can Bring Good Out of Suffering Without Being Its Author
Romans 8:28 says:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Notice what the verse does not say.
It does not say that all things are good.
It does not say that God personally causes every painful experience.
It teaches that God works for the good of those who love Him, even amid difficult circumstances.
Consider Joseph.
His brothers sold him into slavery. He experienced betrayal, injustice, and imprisonment.
Later, Joseph told his brothers:
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good…” (Genesis 50:20, KJV).
Joseph acknowledged two realities.
His brothers intended evil.
God brought good out of what they had done.
God’s ability to redeem evil does not make the evil itself righteous.
This distinction is essential.
6. Sometimes God Delivers Immediately. Sometimes He Does Not.
Consider Peter and James in Acts 12.
King Herod killed James.
Peter was arrested, but an angel delivered him from prison.
Both men served God.
One died, and the other escaped.
Does that mean God loved Peter more than James?
Certainly not.
Does it mean James lacked faith?
Scripture gives us no reason to conclude that.
The passage reminds us that we cannot reduce God’s actions to a simple formula.
We must also remember Paul’s experience.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7–9, Paul describes a thorn in his flesh. He pleaded with the Lord three times for its removal.
Instead of removing it, the Lord answered:
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
God did not remove Paul’s difficulty, but He promised sustaining grace.
This shows that divine intervention does not always mean the immediate removal of suffering.
7. We Must Be Careful About How We Preach God’s Glory
Some popular preaching statements deserve reconsideration.
“God will allow your situation to become worse so that His miracle will be greater.”
“God wants everyone to see you suffer before He raises you.”
“God will let your enemies destroy you so that He can prove He is powerful.”
These statements might sound powerful, but they should not be presented as universal biblical truths.
They risk portraying God as someone who takes pleasure in human suffering.
Yet Lamentations 3:33 says:
“For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.”
The surrounding passage acknowledges divine judgment and affliction, but this verse shows that causing grief is not something God delights in.
Likewise, Ezekiel 33:11 reveals that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but calls them to turn and live.
God’s character must shape how we interpret His actions.
8. The Greatest Revelation of God’s Power Is Not Always a Miracle
Consider Jesus Christ on the cross.
People mocked Him, saying:
“He saved others; himself he cannot save.” (Matthew 27:42).
They expected a demonstration of power through immediate deliverance.
But Jesus revealed God’s love and accomplished redemption through His willing sacrifice.
He was not powerless.
He willingly submitted to the Father’s purpose.
The resurrection later revealed His victory over death.
This teaches us that God’s greatness is not measured only by how dramatically He rescues someone.
His greatness is also revealed through sacrificial love, righteousness, faithfulness, and victory over evil.
My Final Biblical Position
I believe we should distinguish between these three statements:
1. God allows suffering.
This is supported by Scripture.
2. God can use suffering to reveal His glory and accomplish His purposes.
This is also supported by Scripture.
3. God deliberately makes people suffer and delays helping them simply because He wants to demonstrate how powerful He is.
This is not a universal biblical teaching, and Scripture does not justify presenting it as such.
God is sovereign, but He is also compassionate.
He is powerful, but He is also loving.
He is glorious, but He does not need human misery to establish His greatness.
One Important Question for Kingdom Citizens
If God receives glory when He heals the sick, does He not also receive glory when He keeps someone healthy?
If God receives glory when He delivers someone from poverty, does He not also receive glory when He provides for that person before poverty strikes?
If God receives glory when He restores a broken marriage, does He not also receive glory when He helps a husband and wife remain faithful to one another?
Why should we think God’s glory is greater in restoration than in preservation?
Psalm 121:7 says:
“The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”
God’s preserving power is worthy of praise, just as His delivering power is.
We must stop measuring God’s greatness by the severity of the suffering that precedes His intervention.