Someone asked me this question a few weeks ago and I had to try to find an answer. For him, but also for myself.
The problem with finding a satisfying answer to the problem of suffering is that we are trying to figure out who God is by our own human standards of what is good and just.
I am a follower of Jesus and I have objections and questions especially when it comes to suffering. For some of these unanswered questions that bother me as a mere human being, I will eventually find an answer, but for many other unanswered questions, I won't.
I have to come to terms with the humbling truth that my knowledge is limited, and admit that "I don't know God, and I'm never going to figure Him out" - at least not in this life.
But here comes the thing that is beyond human understanding - Faith.
When I sum up what God has done, and what he is doing for humanity, I can only come up with the stereotypical Christian phrase: "God is good - always". Because He provided a way out of this present darkness, by suffering Himself. This, of course, is not satisfying to those who seek to answer the never-ending questions of *why*.
The bottom line is that this life is nothing compared to what comes next for those who have found God, or rather Jesus. This life is a breath, a blip in the grand scheme of eternity. It is over as soon as it begins. Should we risk waiting to find out if what is written, prophesied, and promised in the Word of God is true, or should we live with the hope, assurance, and joy that there is indeed an eternal life of bliss waiting for those who have walked in God's way?
There is a reason why the book of Job is in the Bible. It tells us that we will suffer greatly in this life, emotionally and physically, but that God will restore and heal.
The inspired men who wrote the Bible weren't stupid, otherwise they would have removed all the parts that would cause objections, questions, and doubts. But questions and doubts are necessary to find answers, even if the answer is simply to trust in God (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Despite my lack of understanding of God and my many unanswered questions, I still say, "God is good - always".
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