This is one of the most honest questions of faith, especially for people whose lives have been shaped by struggle, injustice, and loss. My theological perspective is deeply informed by both Womanist Theology and Process Theology.
From the perspective of Process Theology, God does not cause suffering or stand above it unmoved. Instead, God is deeply involved in the ongoing process of the world—working within creation, not controlling it by force. God’s power is persuasive, not coercive. God continually invites life toward healing, justice, and wholeness, even when human choices and broken systems resist that invitation.
Psalm 34:19 acknowledges that “many are the afflictions of the righteous,” yet it also proclaims that God delivers and remains near. This suggests that God does not prevent all suffering by force, but rather that God faithfully accompanies God’s people through our times of suffering. Exodus 3:7 declares, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people…I have heard their cry.” God’s response to suffering is liberation, presence and partnership. This same God is revealed in Jesus who enters into human suffering completely. Suffering is not God’s desire, but it’s also not something that we experience that God ignores. Scripture testifies to a God who suffers with us and calls the faithful to become agents of healing, justice, and hope in a broken world.
African Methodism speaks powerfully into this question. Born out of oppression and exclusion, the African Methodist Episcopal tradition has never imagined God as distant from suffering. Instead, we testify to a God who walks with the oppressed, sustains the weary, and calls communities to resist evil and do justice. Suffering is not God’s will—but neither is it ignored. God is present in the struggle, strengthening faith, inspiring resistance, and birthing hope where despair tries to settle.
In this view, suffering is not explained away, nor is it glorified. It is named honestly. God does not allow suffering because God desires it; suffering exists because the world is still becoming. Yet God never abandons creation to pain alone. God works through people, movements, and communities—especially the church—to heal wounds, challenge injustice, and restore dignity.
Faith, then, is not about accepting suffering as fate. It is about trusting that God is at work within history, calling us to partner in love, liberation, and transformation—until suffering no longer has the final word.
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