Suffering and God's Will

By Craig S. Keener

As Peter learned from following Jesus, sometimes it can be God’s will that we suffer for a greater purpose. When Peter wrote his letter from Rome, Nero was emperor, and suffering lay on the horizon. Soon Nero would be burning Christians alive to light his imperial gardens at night. Both Peter and Paul would die in Rome—Paul the Roman citizen quickly, by beheading, but Peter slowly, by being crucified upside down. Yet Peter was ready.

In light of this, since Christ suffered in the flesh, get your own hearts ready to suffer! Do so because whoever has suffered in the flesh has given up sin. Thus ​they no longer live the rest of their lives for human passions; instead, they live it for God’s will. (1 Pet. 4:1–2)

As Peter suggested, those who have already proved their faithfulness through testing have no reason to fear failing further testing of the same kind; they have already counted the cost (Luke 14:28–32) and proved their loyalty. Like Peter and Jesus’s other disciples, Nagmeh Panahi had failed an earlier test of her faith; she determined not to let it happen again. Later, persecuted by the Iranian government for her witness, she was often afraid of being detained, raped, and possibly killed. But when faced with a decision the next time, she refused to deny Christ. “It was not until I was actually arrested and threatened with rape and death that I knew I could stand firm in my faith, through God’s grace, and proclaim that I was a Christian.”

How can we prepare for tests harder than what we have already faced? By being faithful in the tests that now come our way, learning to depend on God there. Daniel and his three friends refused to compromise themselves with the king’s food (Dan. 1:8–16); they were thus ready for larger tests that led to a burning fiery furnace (3:8–27) and a lion’s den (6:5–23).

“Abba, Papa!” Jesus cried. “You’re able to do anything! Take away this cup from me! Nevertheless: don’t do what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36)

Sometimes, when God says no to us, it is for our good (e.g., Mark 10:37–38), but sometimes it is for others’ good. Jesus’s Father would grant almost anything his beloved Son Jesus asked him, just as he loves to grant our prayers when our hearts are like Jesus’s heart, when we pray in his name. Not for Jesus’s sake, but for ours, God’s will was for Jesus to go to the cross.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer. (Isa. 53:10 NIV)

When Jesus sends disciples to share the good news, he comforts them not with the idea that human hostility will vanish, but with the assurance that God will be with them. He urges them not to “be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing further to do to you.” Not a sparrow falls to the ground “without your Father,” but “you are more valuable than many sparrows”; God knows every hair on your head (Matt. 10:28–31; Luke 12:4–7). He sees the whole world but views his children in a special way (Pss. 33:13, 18; 138:6). In an ideal world, sharing Christ with others might not result in suffering, but in a world where many people are hostile to Christ, Christ may send us as lambs among wolves (Matt. 10:16; Luke 10:3). ​When we forgive those who hurt us rather than taking vengeance into our own hands or hearts, we express our trust in the God who has our back (see Mark 11:25 with 11:22–24; Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4). . .

God Works Things for Our Good

Scripture often speaks explicitly of suffering according to God’s will, but it also reveals hardship’s (frequent) short-term and (inevitable) long-term rewards.

God Still Has Everything Under Control

People who recognize that the Spirit helps our weakness (Rom. 8:26) can also recognize that God works all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). Scripture does not claim that all things feel good, look good, or actually are good in themselves. It does not suggest that everything people do to us they intend for good. But it does suggest that God arranges it all for our good, collectively and often individually, in accordance with his larger good purposes in history. (Even natural evils serve a purpose. For example, earthquakes are a necessary corollary of plate tectonics, which are necessary for advanced life on the earth’s surface.)

This is not the place to get into a debate about whether God micromanages all events. Certainly I do not believe (and most Christians do not believe) that God directly causes people’s evil choices, including their rejection of him (compare 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). God does hand them over to blindness that they have (individually or corporately) chosen (Rom. 1:18–28; 2 Thess. 2:10–12). But God gives space for humans to act while also watching over his plans for the world and, with the most caring attention, over even the hairs on the heads of his children. As Ingrid Betancourt, the Colombian presidential candidate captured and held for six years by rebels, insisted, humans’ wrong choices rather than God’s direct activity causes most suffering. Some things make no sense to us as God’s direct action, although we can see God working around them, through them, and in response to them—and quite often in limiting them.

Still, I am confident that when we know as we are known, even these events will make sense within God’s larger plan, where he sovereignly allows some play for evil (rebellion against God) to reveal its horrible character while God nevertheless ultimately and exquisitely fulfills his ultimate purposes in ​history. That is, we may see them in terms of limited divine permission for free choices of human and extrahuman forces, without God allowing them to prevent his ultimate word from being fulfilled. What Romans 8:28 and other passages do affirm clearly is that God accomplishes his ultimate purposes, and we can entrust ourselves into his caring hands in the meantime no matter what else comes our way.

Robbers spent a night abusing the Beebes, a US Assemblies of God missionary family of four. “Where was God when they hurt us?” the eleven-year-old daughter asked, but then God gave her a vision of Jesus interceding for them, and she understood that Jesus had been with them. God may not give each of us visions to assure us, but he has already provided all of us that assurance in Scripture. Nevertheless, the doctor warned that the injured father, Darrell Beebe, needed brain surgery and that he probably wouldn’t survive. Yet the surgery soon proved unnecessary, and the family was able to continue ministry. Darrell even declared, “If [the robbers] had killed us, what the devil meant as a defeat would have been a victory, because God would have welcomed us into His kingdom. The enemy may win some battles, but he will never win the war.”

Whether God delivers us in this life or not, we cannot betray our loyalty to our Creator and Savior:

God . . . is able to rescue us, . . . but even if he does not . . . (Dan. 3:17–18)

Compare also Caleb’s humble, qualified confidence:

Perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out just as the Lord has spoken. (Josh. 14:12 NASB)

— Craig S. Keener is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of 38 books, 5 of which have won awards in Christianity Today. Craig is editor of the Bulletin for Biblical Research and is past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Learn more about Craig at craigkeener.com.

image by david from Pixabay

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Excerpted from Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life by Craig S. Keener (Baker Academic, 2025). Used by permission.

Suffering is an undeniable aspect of life. In this book, renowned New Testament scholar Craig Keener delves into the perennial question of hardship, offering a biblical understanding of suffering and resilience. Balancing insightful exposition of Scripture with compelling stories of Christians worldwide who have faced trials for their faith, Keener reveals how believers can endure by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acknowledging the reality of suffering, Keener provides guidance on how to respond to life’s challenges and learn from the experiences of others. Rooted in a charismatic perspective yet broadly applicable, this work offers hope and meaning in the midst of suffering, reminding us of our ultimate hope in the new creation.

“Everybody should read this book, whether Christian or non-Christian, whether charismatic or non-charismatic. It shook me, showing me not only how little I know but also how little I have suffered. No one will be the same after reading this book.”
— Dr. R. T. Kendall, former Senior Minister, Westminster Chapel (1977-2002)

“This book bears witness to my own long-standing maxim: We have a gospel worth living for and a gospel worth dying for.”
— Most Rev. Dr. Benjamin A. Kwashi, former archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Jos in the Anglican Church of Nigeria

“Keener’s exegesis of Scripture and the experiences he relates from the milieu of human hardship prove that our Savior’s presence in those moments we didn’t hope for is what gives us peace, contentment, and joy. This book is a necessary treasure.”
— Lisa Harper, author, Bible teacher, and host of the Back Porch Theology podcast

Find Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life at Baker, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, Books-A-Million, and Walmart.

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