"...do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." - Matthew 6:13
If you could ask God one question, what would it be? Many questions probably come to mind such as: "Why am I here?" "Is Jesus, God?" "Is the devil real?" When most people respond, the number one question is often, "Why is there so much pain and suffering?"
Remembering the countless wars and terrorist attacks through the years, the injustice and natural disasters that cause so much pain and heartache – it's easy to find ourselves questioning God's character or asking WHY? "If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, yet doesn't stop evil, why should I believe in Him?" Or, "If He can't do anything about it, then He isn't much of a God, is He?"
God gets blamed for a lot of man's evil, when God has given man a free will. Ironically, the more victimized people are by man's evil, the more they tend to blame God. Yet, we're not created as computers programmed to do good or evil. Like God, we can make choices.
So, why does an all-loving and all-powerful God allow suffering and evil? No answer is adequate. God's main concern is that in the midst of our heartbreak and confusion, that we trust Him to bring good from the bad. He did it when mankind murdered His innocent Son. He can do it with every tragedy we face, both big and small. We need only to trust Him.