Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical

Suffering and Evil

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

May 2023

May 22, 2023

Trusting His Loving Purposes: My Message on Nanci, Suffering, and Heaven at California Baptist University

On March 21, I gave a 30-minute chapel message at California Baptist University. They asked me...

April 2023

April 15, 2023

The Four Biggest Assets in My Grief

Grieving a loved one’s death is a long, often lonely, always painful process. Four key...

April 03, 2023

Why the Year After Her Cancer Diagnosis Was the Best Year of Nanci’s Life

Tuesday March 28 marked a year since my wife Nanci relocated to Heaven. She finished...

March 2023

March 30, 2023

God’s Word and the Universal Problem of Suffering

“What is the meaning of it, Watson?” said Holmes solemnly as he laid down the...

March 23, 2023

Is It God’s Will to Always Heal Us?

A writer friend was at an event many years ago when he witnessed the following:...

February 2023

February 23, 2023

How Can We Trust God through Trials We Don’t Understand?

“In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have...

February 16, 2023

Is It OK for a Christian to Grieve the Loss of a Pet?

A reader recently wrote our ministry: “I am a believer and follower of Jesus Christ....

January 2023

January 30, 2023

Suffering Is About Knowing Jesus Better

Readers of my blog know how much I love and admire Joni Eareckson Tada, who...

January 19, 2023

Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Four Years

Last March, my beloved wife, Nanci, lost her four-year battle with colon cancer. All 54...

December 2022

December 08, 2022

An Eternal Perspective on Suffering, Loss, and Grief

Last month I spoke at the services of my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church....

November 2022

November 21, 2022

God Is as Just and Holy as He Is Loving

In order to understand God’s love in our current culture, it’s necessary to distinguish what...

October 2022

October 17, 2022

God’s Unseen Intervention

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the...

June 2022

June 25, 2022

We Would Do Well to Dig Deep into God

Note from Randy: Here’s another precious insight from Nanci’s journal. One of the verses she shares,...

June 20, 2022

He Will Turn Our Grief into Joy

God doesn’t only promise to replace our grief with joy, but to turn it into joy. Jesus said, “I...

May 2022

May 30, 2022

Sorrow’s End

Contemplating the final end of sorrow has brought me great comfort in these first months...

May 23, 2022

Freedom and Comfort in Truth

As Nanci dealt with suffering and faced her death, I saw greater joy and more...

May 19, 2022

A Happy Ending without an End

In light of Nanci’s departure to be with Jesus seveb weeks ago, a kind sister...

May 16, 2022

Conflict with a Purpose

It may seem strange to say this—I usually don’t look for comfort from my own...

May 09, 2022

Suffering Is No Accident

I write this on the one-month anniversary of Nanci’s homegoing. Strange to think that our...

May 05, 2022

Grasping the Truth of Romans 8:28 Will Change Our Perspective on Suffering

One of the most arresting statements in Scripture is this one: “And we know that...

April 2022

April 28, 2022

Is Our Suffering Pointless?

Perhaps the greatest test of whether we believe Romans 8:28—“In all things God works for the...

April 16, 2022

Finding Resurrection Hope This Easter, and How Suffering Can Drive Us Deeper into God’s Love

I always appreciate the thoughtful, biblical and Christ-centered insights of Tim Keller, and have recommended...

April 07, 2022

The Weakness of Suffering Is a Workroom for God’s Grace

We come into this world needy, and we leave it the same way. Without suffering...

March 2022

March 28, 2022

Honest Faith

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the...

February 2022

February 21, 2022

Rediscovering Your God-Given Identity after Loss

Last fall I had the privilege of being on a Zoom call talking about Heaven...

February 03, 2022

Whose Purpose in Your Suffering Will Prevail?

If we recognize God’s sovereignty even over Satan’s work, it changes our perspective about our...

November 2021

November 18, 2021

If God Is Good, Why Is There Evil and Suffering?

Recently, I was interviewed on The Thinking Out Loud Podcast with Kevin and Kyle. In...

October 2021

October 04, 2021

Clinging to Scripture Sustains Us Through Suffering

In times of crisis we try to make sense of life. We crave perspective for...

September 2021

September 30, 2021

A Flood Swept Away His Wife and Children: The Story of Robert Rogers

In writing my book If God Is Good, I interviewed dozens of believers who have experienced...

September 04, 2021

“My Cancer Is God’s Servant”: Reflections by Nanci Alcorn

Note from Randy: Nanci read the following to me from her journal a few days ago,...

Related posts from Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn

Family

What Will We Be Able to do on...

Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn

Family

Why Is Saying Goodbye to a Pet So...

Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn

Family

What Will It Be Like to Cross from...

Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn

Family

4 Right Responses to Times of Suffering

Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos