There is another aspect of the question of suffering and the existence of God. One might wonder why an all-powerful God does not make His existence more obvious. Where is God when you need Him?
Is He really all-powerful? Is He really a God of love? Why doesn’t God intervene? It should be easy enough to see that if God were to intervene in every murder or war this would quickly remove human freedom. We would become simply robots doing only what He allows. Then in which war or injustice should God intervene? Who decides? Perhaps God has intervened in many ways. Could it be that our world would be much worse without these interventions? When has He intervened? These are interesting questions to explore.
Could it be that God has a reason for His covert way of operating in our world? That seems to be the pattern we see throughout the Bible. There are dozens of examples, consider for example the temptation the Devil offered Jesus to jump from the top of the temple. (Matthew 4) That would have really impressed everybody, which was not the plan. The brothers of Jesus did not understand the plan either and urged Jesus to show His works more publicly. “For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” (John 7:4)
God’s hiddenness is ultimately an invitation to look for Him. God invites us, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). Jesus said something similar to the Jews but warned that the offer is for a limited time only. “Jesus then said ‘I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me, and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.’” (John 7:33-34)
The Bible argues that God’s existence is obvious but many reject the obvious. (Romans 1:18-32 and Psalm 19:1-4) Why? Jesus explained,
“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:19-21)
Jesus also said, “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12, 9:5) We understand that He meant not physical light like the sun, but a source of understanding, a light to make sense of life. Jesus is God’s revelation of Himself and of truth. What you do with Him shows your motives.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor. 1:18-25)
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