Suffering

Where Is God in a Tsunami?

In the aftermath of any natural disaster, especially one so brutally and indiscriminately devastating as the Japan tsunami, the cries “Where was God?” and “How could a loving God . . . ?” grow louder than usual. Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden is the ultimate cause of the death and suffering we see in the world today.

Why So Much Violence?

The peace, or shalom, of the original creation’s order was disrupted by humanity’s early insurrection against our Creator. When the man and the woman exalted themselves as gods—in league with the serpent—God pronounced a curse upon everything under the rule of humans—and that curse impacted everything.

Is God There When I Suffer?

We are not going to have all the answers as to why things like sickness have been allowed to happen. God has a sovereign plan far greater than we could imagine. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

A Lesson From a Hurricane

Reach out and help where you can as the Bible commands us. Be ready to give answers about how Christians can reconcile a God of love with death, suffering and destruction. But the most important issue that we should all make our highest priority concerns the state of people's souls. After all, each soul will live forever in heaven or hell.

Suffering Topics

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Magazine Department Article
The Dark Side of Nature

Dec. 1, 2025 from Answers Magazine
Nature isn’t all peace and beauty. But even the dark side of creation can tell us something about God’s grace.
News
Pope Francis Dies—A Reminder of the Sad Reality of a Groaning World

April 21, 2025 from Ken Ham Blog
When anyone passes away, whether someone we knew personally or a public figure, it’s always a reminder—a sad reminder of what our sin has done to creation.
Magazine Article
A Heart Toward Heaven

April 1, 2025 from Answers Magazine
When we lose a loved one, how can our grief teach us the right way to long for heaven?
Death, Friend of Evolution

Oct. 29, 2024
Is death a problem or an evolutionary solution to cull the “unfit”?
Magazine Department Article
Nothing Undone—Asking for More Time

Oct. 1, 2023 from Answers Magazine
Facing my mortality has reminded me to follow Christ’s example rather than Hezekiah’s as I spend my “extra time.”
Magazine Department Article
The Problem of Death

June 30, 2023 from Answers Magazine
At some point, everyone struggles with tragedy. Without the Bible’s account of creation, there are no good answers.
Magazine Article
Why Do We Age?

June 25, 2023 from Answers Magazine
Aging is a result of Adam’s fall. But can we do anything to ease the effects of aging or extend our life span?
Magazine Department Article
Natural Disasters—God Getting His Revenge?

Jan. 22, 2023 from Answers Magazine
It seems you can’t turn on the news without hearing about another disaster.
Magazine Article
Feast in Famine—Celebrating God’s Goodness in Suffering

Jan. 1, 2023 from Answers Magazine
As our loved ones walk through the valley of death, how do we endure to find joy at God’s table of grace?
Death of a Christian: The Pain and Joy of Final Farewell

Nov. 8, 2022
How should Christians view death and the end of life?
Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?

May 25, 2022 from Countering the Culture
We know death and suffering aren’t God’s fault—they are the result of living in a sin-cursed world. And Bible-believing Christians have hope in the midst of pain.
Christian Reflections on the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Dec. 7, 2021
The brutality of war, the value of people, our common ancestry in Adam, and need for a Savior on this 80th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
News
Why Do Bad Things Happen? US Adults Answer

Dec. 6, 2021 from Ken Ham Blog
Twenty-three percent of Americans have pondered the problem of suffering over the past two years. God’s Word has answers.
A Mourning to Remember—20 Years After 9/11

Sept. 11, 2021
Looking back at the events of September 11, 2001, we recount where we were and how God fortified our understanding of how he uses suffering in our lives.
Magazine Department Article
A God of Suffering?

Jan. 1, 2021 from Answers Magazine
Why do innocent people and animals have to face the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin?
Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and the Christian

Oct. 24, 2020, pp. 15–17
What are near-death experiences, types of NDEs, materialistic explanations of the phenomena, and how biblical Christians understand NDEs.
Magazine Department Article
Why Do Innocent Children Suffer?

March 1, 2020 from Answers Magazine
Only God’s Word can give us answers about suffering—and offer comfort.
Death, the Enemy: A Child and a Dead Opossum

Oct. 16, 2019
A putrefying animal carcass covered in flies and exuding an odor reminds us of the consequences of sin and the horror of rebellion against our Creator.
Feedback Article
Did God Give Stephen Hawking ALS?

March 23, 2018 from Feedback
Ken Ham’s Twitter post and the accompanying post on Facebook pertaining to Dr. Stephen Hawking’s death quickly garnered dozens of responses.
Magazine Article
Suffering & Death

March 6, 2018 from Answers Magazine
If God is so good, why is this world filled with suffering and death? The answer is plainly described in Genesis 1–3.
Magazine Department Article
No One Is Good Except God Alone

Jan. 1, 2018 from Answers Magazine
Do Christians accuse God of calling cancer, brain tumors, and death “very good”?
We Now Grieve with a Texas Church

Nov. 6, 2017
We pray for the families and friends of the 26 people killed and 20 wounded during a worship service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Magazine Department Article
Why Is the World Broken?

March 22, 2016 from Answers Magazine
This world is broken and can’t seem to find its way. Where is the all-knowing, loving Creator God in the midst of all this pain and suffering?
Book Chapter
Why Does God’s Creation Include Death and Suffering?

Sept. 11, 2015 from The New Answers Book 1
Why do bad things happen? Human beings seek to reconcile their understanding of an all-powerful, loving God with the seemingly endless suffering around them.