Earlier this month, Pastor Greg Locke published a YouTube video called “Dear Atheism, you’re not paying attention.” He addressed the issue of suffering and how God uses suffering to draw people to Himself. In a recent interview with The Stream, Pastor Locke spoke more in depth on human suffering, how God uses suffering and why some are healed and others aren’t. 

C.S. Lewis said, ‘We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience,  but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’ Would you agree with that?

Very much so. A.W. Tozer once said, ‘It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.’

Most of the atheist world blames God. As Christians, we know it’s the result of the Fall. God forgives sin but doesn’t relieve consequences. It’s like this: God gave us a car but we put it into the ditch. It’s also in the way that we look at suffering and trials. After 25 years of preaching I’ve learned that my deepest pain can be my largest platform. 

What can Christians learn from suffering?

Pastor Locke: How frail we are. We’re dying as soon as we’re born. How majestic God is. People take a humanistic approach. For example, they say, ‘God is good because my marriage is good,’ or ‘God is good because I don’t have cancer,’ but if they die of cancer God is still good. God is good because He’s God. We see the bigness of God. Through sickness and suffering we see how weak and frail we are without God.

Some people see miraculous healing while others are never healed. Why is that? What would be the purpose of either outcome?

That’s difficult because healing is up to God. It may be a platform. Ultimately, if we are believers, we know that we’ll be healed eventually. If we die of cancer, we’re still healed. We’re winners either way. God doesn’t always heal in the body. But we can’t minimize people’s faith. What’s important isn’t my faith but the object of my faith. It’s up to God. It’s like when we pray for revival. We pray for it like it will happen, but really, it’s the sovereign work of God. 

How can Christians address the issue of suffering with non-Christians?

It does have to be addressed. It’s based on our worldview. I have a child with a disability. I’ve seen how He’s allowed it. But it’s given my son the opportunity to share the Gospel. In the atheist video, Bobby said [in response to an atheist who had questioned why God allowed Bobby to have a disability] ‘So that you could trip over my legs, ask me that question and we could have this conversation.’ God knows. We live so much in the moment. God describes his presence in the present. ‘I AM.’ He knows what will happen in the future. He’s holy, He truly is.

How can Christians help those who are suffering?

Pray for them, be patient with them. We forget that there’s a discipleship aspect. We still have suffering. The Gospel promises we will be transformed, but not overnight. Pray with them through their suffering. The Bible promises comfort. The Scriptures provide hope. People grow through trials. The God who leads us to it will be the God who leads us through it.