For many, the existence of suffering and evil in the world is the greatest hurdle to full faith and belief in God. It seems irreconcilable that a God who is all-powerful and all-loving could allow the presence of pain and hardship. It is a dilemma that preacher and biblical scholar Tom Long called “the impossible chess match,” in which there is no clear and clean outcome. But faith allows us to trust where there are no easy answers, and follow God when we ask our hardest questions. 

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Reflection Questions:
1. When have you wrestled with God’s relationship to human suffering?
 
2. What has given you strength during times of hardship? Where do you think God was?
 
3. How have you experienced God transforming your suffering into something positive?