So how do you break it down without either (a) sounding like a robot who has never stubbed a toe, or (b) drowning in clichés like “everything happens for a reason”? The answer: carefully, sensitively, and yes—sometimes with a little humor to keep the conversation human.
The Epicurean Paradox: The Oldest “Gotcha” Question
The classic problem of suffering goes something like this (often attributed to the philosopher Epicurus):
- If God is all-powerful, He could stop evil.
- If God is all-loving, He would want to stop evil.
- Evil exists.
- Therefore… either God isn’t all-powerful, or He isn’t all-loving.
Cue the mic drop. Students hear this and think, Wow, game over for Christianity, right?
But not so fast. Just because the argument is old doesn’t mean it’s airtight. The challenge for youth leaders is to help young people see that although suffering is definitely a problem, it isn’t one for Christianity.
Here’s a five step plan to walk your students through:
The challenge for youth leaders is to help young people see that although suffering is definitely a problem, it isn’t one for Christianity.
Step One: Acknowledge the Pain
The worst thing we can do is minimize suffering. If a student asks, “Why did my friend die?” or “Why do school shootings happen?” the wrong move is to whip out a chart and say, “Well, let’s run through the logical syllogisms.”
Start here instead: suffering is real, it hurts, and God sees it too. Even Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus (John 11:35). Let students know it’s okay to lament, cry out, and ask God hard questions. Christianity isn’t afraid of raw honesty. In fact, a huge portion of the Psalms is basically David saying, “God, where are You?!”
Step Two: Point Out What Suffering Actually Proves
Here’s where you get to flip the script. Evil and pain aren’t evidence against God—they’re actually clues pointing toward Him.
Think about it: you can’t call something unjust unless you have a sense of what justice is. You can’t label something evil unless you already believe in a standard of good. C.S. Lewis answers this question in his famous book, Mere Christianity, saying,
“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” ^1
The answer? We’re comparing our world to the perfect state of Eden that humanity was cast out of due to Adam and Eve’s sin. We’re comparing it to the perfection of heaven that our hearts long for. We’re comparing all that is wrong in the world to the reality God originally intended for us and will ultimately restore for those who follow Him.
That explains why suffering bothers us, but why does it happen in the first place? Enter Step 3.
If God gave us free will, then the possibility of evil comes with it. Love that’s forced isn’t love—it’s programming.
Step Three: Free Will and the Messiness of Love
If God gave us free will, then the possibility of evil comes with it. Love that’s forced isn’t love—it’s programming.
Ask your students: Would you rather have a robot programmed to say “I love you” or a real person who chooses to love you? Easy answer. Real love requires the freedom to say no or to walk away which means freedom comes with risk. Humanity has a sin nature, which means the risk wasn’t just theoretical. We were always going to mess it up.
So why doesn’t God just wipe out evil right now? Because that would mean wiping out us. A perfect society and complete human freedom can’t coexist in a fallen world. If God zaps away every wrong choice instantly, you don’t have humans anymore—you have puppets.
Step Four: God Didn’t Stay Distant
This is where Christianity offers something unique. God doesn’t just sit up in heaven, shrugging at our pain. He entered it in the form of Jesus.
Jesus experienced betrayal, physical torture, injustice, grief, and death. He knows suffering from the inside out. That means when your students pray about their pain, they’re talking to Someone who gets it—not in theory, but firsthand.
And the cross shows us that God can bring ultimate good out of temporary evil. Just think, the worst injustice in history—the murder of the only perfect person to live—became the very means of salvation for the world. That doesn’t make our suffering easy, but it does prove that God can redeem it.
Step Five: Point Toward Hope
Here’s the mic drop for Christians: suffering doesn’t have the last word. Revelation 21:4 promises a day when God will wipe away every tear, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.
That hope isn’t an escapist fantasy. It’s grounded in the resurrection of Jesus. He walked out of the grave to show us that pain, evil, and death are temporary and that He has conquered them.
Students need to hear this because unlike the atheist story that says “life stinks, deal with it.” or the marxist, story that says, “life is oppressive, let’s overthrow it,” the story of Christianity says, “life hurts, but God will fix it.”
When it comes to suffering, the atheist story says “life stinks, deal with it.” The Marxist, story says, “life is oppressive, let’s overthrow it,” but the story of Christianity says, “life hurts, but God will fix it.”
Putting It All Together for Students
So when students ask, “Why does God allow suffering?” you can guide them like this:
- Validate the pain. God sees and cares.
- Flip the question. Evil proves the reality of good and our longing for God.
- Explain the alternative. No free will, no real love. To love freely means risking sinning freely too.
- Remind them of God’s relationship to us. God isn’t distant. He entered the suffering in the form of Jesus who experienced it firsthand and conquered it.
Point them to hope. Evil is temporary; God will make all things new for those who put their trust in Him.
Final Word for Leaders
Suffering is messy. We all deal with it, but not all students are in the thick of it when this question comes up. Some students will appreciate the logical answer, others just need a shoulder to cry on, a hug, and some words of encouragement. Be the kind of leader who can tell the difference and who listens, acknowledges, and then gently shows how the gospel doesn’t ignore suffering but redeems it.
Footnotes
1. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (USA: MacMillian, 1952), 31.
