Ministers and the elders are pastorally busy in the congregation. They both share in the presbyterate which character­istically means taking care of the sheep and lambs of the flock. Ezekiel 34:15 has correctly been called the "magna carta" of office-bearers' work. As a consequence of this "magna carta" both minister and elder will visit those members of the congregation which experience illness, worry and sorrow. They must keep the example of the Great Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, constantly in mind: He was moved with compassion over the sick and those who mourn, and in Bethesda Hospital near Jerusalem, He precisely sought out the man who had no friends and who suffered much. John 5:6 says it so beautifully: "Jesus saw him lying there." In the midst of all those sick people, the Good Shepherd saw that man. He sought out that lonely wretch. In this essay I will discuss the suffering of God's children and from the Scriptures hope to answer the oft-asked question: Does suffering also come from God's Fatherly hand?

The well-known Dutch author, Maarten 't Hart had question and answer 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism printed on the first page of his novel, Een vlucht regen wulpen.

Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?

A. God's providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand.

In his book 't Hart describes how his mother, struck by cancer, suffered dreadfully. It shocked young Maarten deeply and made him loathe the God he grew up with. A God who from His throne guides all things; a God who brings unimaginable suffering into the life of His children. Maarten 't Hart had great difficulty with the thought that God plants cancer cells. Such a God has more in common with a cruel tyrant, who delights in seeing his children suffer, than a loving Father.

The question 't Hart deals with is indeed a very timely and pressing one: When a believer is confronted with something terrible (be it an illness or deep sorrow), his first thought invariably is: How can the Almighty God allow something like that to happen without intervention? Does God rule over suffering as well, and is it true what we confess in Lord's Day 10, namely that suffering comes from God's Fatherly hand? Is the suffering of God's chil­dren compatible with His Fatherhood or must we say that the church has had it wrong and that we in no way may connect suffering with God?

Maarten 't Hart's question is indeed an im­mensely existential one. It is a question which easily rises in the minds of God's children as well. This question is also the centre of attention in theology. First I will show how this question is answered in modern theology and then pay attention to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures in this regard.

H. Wiersinga⤒🔗

In his book, Verzoening met het Lijden? (Reconcili­ation with Suffering?) Dr. H. Wiersinga writes about the suffering in our present world and God's in­volvement in it. I bring his book about suffering to your attention, because his writing is a good ex­ample of what can be found in many pastoral guides for the sick. Wiersinga may be called a representa­tive of the modern view of God and suffering. A view which in the last ten years has grown consid­erably.

Wiersinga is convinced that the image of a God, who stands aloof from all suffering, must be demol­ished. For many generations people were comforted in their sorrows by the image of an inscrutable God who also guided their suffering. That image, how­ever, is not in keeping with the Gospel. The Gospel does not present God as standing aloof, but standing on the side of suffering, with and in the midst of those who suffer. The Lord God shares in the suffer­ing of people. He is not an in-compassionate Ruler of all things, but a God of sympathy and solidarity (p. 22).

A book such as Job does not connect suffering with God, but proclaims a God who suffers along (mee-lijdt) with human suffering. Job refuses to ac­cept the suffering which he experiences, as coming from God's hand. He discovers a totally different picture of God than the inscrutable instigator of suffering. It is an image of a God who suffers along; a God who distances Himself from omnipotence and revenge. The message of the book of Job is that God does not afflict us with suffering (p. 47). But, so we ask Wiersinga, if it does not come from God, where does it come from?

Wiersinga answers that suffering is a mystery. It is a riddle, which we cannot solve. We must acknowledge that there are "blind spots" in our knowledge, which we cannot fill in by speaking about God's opaque acts. He writes: "We have more respect for the riddle of suffering when we forgo any solution rather than giving a solution which (thanks be to God) we cannot make true" (p.51).

In Isaiah 63:9 we read: "In all their distress he too was distressed and the angel of his presence saved them." In this text Wiersinga sees the suffering of God indicated. God suffers in the history of Israel. What happens to His people, happens to Him. God takes the suffering of people upon Himself, He takes it seriously!

Wiersinga cannot say anything good about the idea of a God who stands above suffering, who cannot suffer. That idea comes from Greek philosophy. Christians must rid themselves of it. God is not unemotional. There is truth in the old doctrine of theopaschitism: God, indeed, suffers. He even suffers more than people, for He suffers as an outsider and places Himself in our suffering.

What is proclaimed in the Old Testament, be­comes very clear in the Gospel: "The Gospel of the Son enlarges this image of a sympathetic God. He, a man, brings it within view and reach" (p. 51). Pre­cisely in Jesus, the Son, we see God suffer in our suffering. Wiersinga even speaks about the "cruci­fied God" (p. 60), God suffers in the Son, He gives Himself up to death.

God, however, voluntarily takes the suffering upon Himself. As an outsider He becomes the insider. In it Wiersinga sees a hopeful perspective: God voluntarily takes on the suffering and does some­thing with it! There is not only God's impotence – namely on the cross – there is also God's superior power, which finally overcomes. Suffering is not final. In this connection Wiersinga states: "The characteristics of God is in the first place defenselessness. And we believe – in order to see, you must see through the illusion – that little by little, in fact only finally, His power becomes visible in the individual and in the collective history of mankind. The verifi­cation of that power lies as yet in the future" (p. 59). In other words, from God's impotence we may say that suffering will be overcome at some time. That conquest, however, still lies in the future; the future of the last day.

That is why a Christian must hope that God's defenselessness (and that is our present world history) results in God's superior power over suffering. We see something of God's superior power in Jesus' resurrection. That resurrection is a signal that suffer­ing is not without end. The resurrection makes it clear to us that there will be an end to suffering (p. 61). Wiersinga also reads a happy end to world history in the book of Job. It does not end in a suffering without hope, but in an unimaginable land of happiness. Job's fairytale ending tells us that there will be an end to suffering in the world. The Lord God is concerned with the salvation of people. The happy ending of Job gives witness to the surety that God also reaches His goal in people.

From this vision Wiersinga concludes that the doctrine of God's providence needs to be corrected. God does not have a hand in the suffering which people experience. Evil is a mystery. We must seek it somewhere and it sooner lies with people than with God (p. 65). We cannot comfort ourselves in our suffering with the knowledge that God's providence is behind it.

Our comfort is that God suffers along and is our ally in the suffering. Wiersinga writes: "Against and without His will much happens. However, He con­cerns Himself with even the most trivial thing that happens" (p. 66). What should be our attitude to­wards suffering? Wiersinga will have nothing to do with resignation nor acceptance. His book ends with the cry: "Reconciliation with suffering? Never!" (p. 115). There must remain room for protest. Because we know that God does something with the suffer­ing, we must also do something with it: as much as possible we must do battle with it and vanquish it. We must take up the challenge to fight against discrimination, brute force and oppression. This vision also leads to political action: "Compassion mobilizes a group of people, who will participate in the untenable and unbearable situation of the suffer­ing individual or group" (p. 112). Those who know of God's superior power, can never reconcile them­selves with suffering.

It need not be argued that in Dr. Wiersinga's book we are dealing with a view of suffering which differs greatly from what we find in the Scriptures. Wiersinga can only write that way by treating God's Word arbitrarily. How much the authority of the Scriptures is called into question appears when he writes: "It no longer suffices to come with an analecta of bible texts, in order to come to a formulation and support of a harmonious image of God. We again learn to discover, weigh and select (N.B.! A.N.H.), what in those various portrayals and witnesses of Bible authors is the truly-new, the truly-faithful and the promising image of God" (p. 95). J. Kamphuis correctly pointed out that in this view of Scriptures, the unity of the Scriptures as the Word of the only God, is undermined.¹ Theologians determine what is trustworthy and not trustworthy in the Scriptures. They will tell us what the true image of God is. Here human erudition places itself above the Scriptures.²

Barth, Bonhoeffer←⤒🔗

In Wiersinga's opinions we hear the voice of modern theology. The idea of God's suffering was already propagated, albeit in a different framework than Wiersinga's, by the well-known Swiss theologian, Karl Barth. Barth spoke about the suffering of God, not to offer comfort in human sufferings, but within the framework of the doctrine of reconciliation. Only when we see the suffering of God in Christ's passion, will we understand something about the depth of reconciliation. God's omnipotence is precisely His ability to be impotent, to humble Himself on the cross. In the man Jesus Christ, God Himself suffers. God placed Himself under our curse and forsaken­ness. In this impotence and humiliation, His om­nipotence is revealed, for so God triumphs over sin and death.³

In his doctrine of reconciliation, Barth presented theopaschitism in a new dress.⁴

Not only Barth, but also the much quoted Ger­man theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer must be men­tioned. During his imprisonment by the Nazis, he wrote a series of impressive letters which later were published in a book entitled "Widerstand und Ergebung." Bonhoeffer himself suffered and so exis­tentially became involved in the subject. His state­ments greatly influenced theological thought after World War II. There is unmistakably a direct line from Bonhoeffer to Wiersinga. Bonhoeffer writes:

God lets Himself be driven from the world to the cross. In this world God is weak and impotent and precisely, therefore and only therefore, He is with us and helps us.⁵ The Bible points people to God's impotence and suffering: only the suffering God can help. One can say that the outlined development to maturity, which does away with an incorrect representation of God, frees us to see the God of the Bible, who through his impotence gains room and power in the world.⁶ Still a third quote from Bonhoeffer: Was it above your strength to watch with me for an hour?" Jesus asks in Gethsemane. That is the rever­sal of everything that a religious person expects from God. Man is called to suffer along with God's suffer­ing over the godless world.⁷

Bonhoeffer speaks about God's suffering in connection with the history of our human world and not in the framework of the doctrine of reconcili­ation. The history of our world with all its force and oppression, reveals God's impotence and suffering. And God's children may be comforted by the knowl­edge that God Himself suffers in their sufferings.

H. Berkhof←⤒🔗

A third name connected with Wiersinga's view, is that of H. Berkhof. In 1973 Berkhof wrote a much read study in which he developed a modern dogma and doctrine.⁸ Wiersinga often refers to Berkhof's book. It appears to me that his thoughts about God and suffering are especially influenced by Berkhof. Berkhof calls the opinion that God's omnipotence is central to the Bible, a great error. The biblical witness precisely emphasizes God's defenselessness. God creates people and then, as it were, steps back and makes room for others.

By providing that room, and all the risks it entails, God hands over His power and more or less makes Himself dependent on what people do. Sin is man abusing this given room. The history of Israelis, to a large degree, the history of a God who sees His plans fail. This defenselessness of God, of which the Old Testament so strongly gives witness, becomes distinctly visible in what happens to Jesus of Nazareth. The nadir of which is the cross on Golgotha, where God is silent and free, rebellious men, triumph over God (Christelijk Geloof, pp. 142, 143).

We should, however, not stare ourselves blind on God's defenselessness. This defenselessness in fact is the expression of His superior power: God can withdraw Himself from the acts of man, because He will win. In His defenselessness, His superior power works in a hidden way: God finally triumphs over men and so works towards His future (pp. 146, 147). Berkhof forcefully rejects the thought that all suffering on earth is a result of sin. God did not create a world which was finished and perfect. Pain, disas­ter, suffering and death are given to man in his creatureness (pp. 178, 179).⁹

Why God wanted it that way is not revealed. We can go no further than the end of the book of Job does, namely, that suffering can only and totally be reduced by the incomprehensibility of God (p.182). From God's defenselessness over against men's doing, Berkhof also speaks about the suffering of God. God suffers under the opposition of people and their disobedience (p. 117). We see that very strongly in the death of Jesus, the new man, whom God gave. Even though God was in Jesus, men nailed Him to the cross (p. 316). Yet in a world full of sufferings and riddles we can take courage. Jesus' resurrection proclaims to us God's superior power over the acts of men. To all sufferings there comes an end. What Jesus is after the resurrection, we will be (p. 330). We may know that God makes all things subservient to His purposes, including our salvation. God as yet is not omnipotent: In our world with all its violence and suffering He is still the defenseless one. His superior power, however, triumphs. Even though we see no such coherence and are placed before riddles, we know ourselves safely hid in Him and go on holding His hand (p. 467).

I have passed on some of the thoughts of Barth, Bonhoeffer and Berkhof, to show how their themes return in those of Wiersinga. One could name other theologians¹⁰ but the quoted ones sufficiently prove that Wiersinga's views are completely in line with the trends in modern theology.

What do the Scriptures say?←⤒🔗

It is time to pay attention to the witness of the Holy Scriptures. He, who bows in faith before the Scrip­tures as the Word of God, must conclude that all suffering in our world is a result of our sin. God created the world without suffering. Genesis 1:31 says emphatically: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Berkhof is wrong when he says that pain, disasters and death are inherent in man's creatureness. Genesis 3 says that the curse entered the earth because of man's sin. In Romans 8 we hear its echo. There the apostle Paul states that God's creation has been subjected to fruitlessness.

Wiersinga also detracts from the Scriptures when he states that the origin of suffering is a mystery, and that, on that point, there is a blind spot in our knowl­edge. The Scriptures clearly make a connection be­tween man's suffering and his sins. Therefore, I am happy that the old "Comfort to the Sick" begins by speaking about our fall into sin. Through Adam, so it is said, we fell into ruin, namely in all unrighteous­ness, adversity and suffering.

When we are confronted by suffering, we are reminded of our fall into sin, our unfaithfulness in the Garden of Eden. In sickness, disasters and adver­sity, we are faced with the curse which we ourselves have brought over God's beautiful world. God's children share in the fruitlessness to which creation is subjected. It is, however, no longer necessary to experience sickness and adversity as a curse, a judge­ment of an angry God.

Christ bore our curse. He also took away the judgement in sickness and dying. I read this in the quote from Isaiah 53 which Matthew gives as an explanation of Jesus' miraculous healings: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases" (Matthew 8:17). H. N. Ridderbos comments:

Thereby he (Matthew) quotes from the prophecies about the suffering of the Lord's Servant, who takes the place of Israel in order to bear Israel's sufferings, both spiritual and physical, and also to take upon Himself the punishment for Israel's sin, cf. Isaiah 53:4, 5.¹¹

Realizing that again and again, appears to me as a very liberating thought. In the suffering which also comes to God's children, we do not need to see the punishing hand of God. On the basis of the reconcil­ing suffering of Christ, we may know that we in our suffering are not dealing with an angry God. Suffer­ing as punishment for sin has been borne for us. Calvin points out that God punishes the unbelievers as a Judge, but chastises the believers as a Father.

The first he calls a 'judgement of revenge,' the second a 'judgement of chastisement.' 'Where punishment is out of revenge, there the curse and wrath of God is shown, which He always keeps from the believers. The chastisement on the other hand, is a blessing and it gives witness of love, as the Scriptures teach us…'¹²

 A serious objection against the view of Wiersinga and others, is that it equates the suffering of God's children with the suffering of humanity! Modern theologians refuse to see God's hand in suffering. The deepest cause lies in the rejection of the image of a God, who from His throne, rules all things. Auschwitz could take place. That fact alone is clear enough proof that we cannot speak about God ruling over everything that happens on earth. How can the murder of millions of Jews be reconciled with it?¹³ Berkouwer correctly speaks about a "crisis of faith in Providence."¹⁴

The God of the Bible is the God of impotence, of defenselessness. A God, who does not rule over suffering, but who only sympa­thizes with it, who suffers along with the suffering of people. A God who is not yet omnipotent!

It is clear that Lord's Day 10 diametrically op­poses these thoughts. The church confesses that God rules over everything and that He even controls the devils, so that without His will they cannot move. K. Schilder drew attention to the fact chat Lord's Day 10 confesses God's omnipresence, rather than His presence. The Lord is really present in all that happens on earth. It concerns here a direct, personal presence.¹⁵ On that basis we can confess that nothing happens to us by chance. Schilder refers to the German text of the Catechism, in order to explain the words "by chance." In the German text it says so beautifully, "nicht ohne gefahr"; not without guidance, not with­out direction. God directs, guides, all things. That is why we do not experience suffering "by chance", without direction. Behind the suffering, God's chil­dren may see a Fatherly guidance.¹⁶ The Almighty is their Father in Jesus Christ, from whose love they cannot be separated.

It is a serious defamation of the witness of the Scriptures, when Wiersinga and Berkhof speak about God's impotence and defenselessness. Scripture is full of God's high rule, also when it comes to suffer­ing. It is for sure God's business! In Amos 3:6 we read: "When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?" and in Isaiah 45:6, 7 we find this word of the Lord:

I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.

The suffering of humanity for certain takes place within God's providence. He sent plagues on Egypt (Exodus 9:14). He punished Israel with adversity, because of their sins (Leviticus 26; Deuter­onomy 28). He brought His people into exile (2 Chronicles 36:15)

In the Psalms we hear God's children constantly connect their adversity and suffering with God's hand. David became deathly ill. He, however, sees God's hand in it and confesses: "...when you hid your face, I was dismayed" (Psalm 30:8). Psalm 42 speaks about "your waves and breakers have swept over me" (vs. 7) and in Psalm 22:15 we find the profound words: "you lay me in the dust of death" (cf. Psalm 88:7). Scripture leaves no doubt: God's hand is in the suffering; the suffering which takes place in our world, and in the suffering that God's children sometimes so painfully experience.

The Question of "Why"←⤒🔗

I will restrict myself to the suffering of God's chil­dren. I do not believe for a minute that Scripture calls us to protest and not to be reconciled with it. Of course we may and must, battle and lighten suffer­ing, as much as we are able to do. On every sickbed, there ought to be a healthy resistance against the disease itself. That is, however, quite different from the resistance, the rebellion against God's hand for being ill. In my opinion God's children may ask the question: "Why, O Lord?" In the book of Psalms we hear that question as well. Psalm 10:1: "Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"; Psalm 22:1: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?"; Psalm 42:9: "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" How the question "why" is asked is decisive. Does it come from a rebellious heart or from God's child who is wrestling with the matter of his Father's guidance. G.C. Berkouwer correctly points out that questions after the why must be carried by the prayer: "Teach me, O Lord, your ways, make your paths known to me."¹⁷

God's hand is positively present in the suffering of His children! The Scriptures state that the Lord can bring illness into our lives in order to discover sin. (Psalm 30:7; Matthew 9:1-8; 1 Corinthians 11:30); Moses (Exodus 4:24) and David (Psalm 32) are ex­amples of this. We see further that God uses it as a means to test His children and to bring about an increase in faith (Isaiah 38:17; Romans 5:3, 4; James 1:1-4). The Saviour speaks about a gardener who prunes the tree, so that it will be more fruitful (John 15:2). In the third place the suffering in the lives of God's children is sometimes for the furtherance of the Gospel (Acts 5:41; 2 Timothy 4:6). Paul's impris­onment furthered the preaching of the Gospel (Phil­ippians 1:12). In that case it concerns suffering for the sake of Christ. Finally, God brings suffering into the lives of those who are His, in order to glorify His name (John 9:2). The suffering of Job is part of the battle between the Lord and Satan, in which God's honour is at stake.

Wiersinga fails to appreciate all these aspects of suffering. He does not distinguish between them and he equates the suffering of God's children with that of the world. Scripture speaks differently and teaches us to distinguish. Illness can be the result of a personal sin. The moment of self-examination may never be lacking, when the Lord guides our life through the depths of pain. Are we perhaps pursu­ing a wrong course of action? Does the Lord meet us on the way?

On the other hand, we must not loose sight of the fact that in texts, which mention illness as a punishment for a personal sin, it always concerns an obvious sin. A child of God who knows himself to be free of any "gross trespass," may see his suffering in the light of all the other possibilities mentioned. In doing so, we cannot make a sharp distinction between the various aspects, as they come to the fore in Scripture. The conclusion that everything has bearing on God's way with His suffering children is, I think, justified. Those who visit the sick or sorrowing must always keep this in mind.

On more than one occasion Scripture proclaim the inscrutability of God's ordinance. His name is Wonderful (Genesis 32:29; Judges 13:18). God is great and we do not understand Him (Job 36:26). We do not comprehend why the Lord sometimes deals with His children in a certain way. God's inscrutabil­ity, however, does not hinder His praise in the Scriptures.¹⁸ Job finally praises God. Also in Psalms 10 and 42, where we encounter the "why", God's praise is not missing!

He who as a pastor speaks with God's suffering children, may point out that God's throne which rules all things, is the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16), and the throne of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1). With that knowledge, adoration is possible, even in the night (Psalm 42:9). God's servants, the angels, lead us in this adoration. In Revelation, God's actions are surrounded by the adoration of the angels. They do not distrust God's guidance, but know: His ways are good and righteous. In that confidence God's chil­dren may follow the angels' example. In Romans 8:30, Paul sees the life of the believers anchored to the golden chain of God's faithfulness. And so he re­joices: "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." The apostle does not say that we see that, but we know that. It is a matter of faith, not of seeing.

When the Lord brings concern and sadness into our life, we must accept it in a childlike faith, even though we may have our questions. We must believe that it is all for the good, for the realization of God's plan of salvation for those who belong to Him.

To be sure, God's children can have great diffi­culties with the suffering they experience. Asaph, Job and Jeremiah also cried out. Our questioning, wrestling heart can be at rest, when we look to the cross of our Redeemer. On that cross, the Lord revealed His love for us. No, that certainly will not solve all problems. However, those who see God's love in Christ, become in their suffering, more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). They know, that God's love is also present in suffering. The Father's hand remains open and reaches out to us.

A Loving Father←⤒🔗

God does not suffer along with our suffering. Scrip­ture nowhere speaks about God's suffering. Wiersinga trespasses the boundaries the Scriptures set. God is blessed (1 Timothy 1:11; 6:15). That, however, does not mean that our God has no compassion. He knows the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7). In Israel's distress, He is distressed (Isaiah 63:9), and His heart turns within Him at the thought of giving up His people (Hosea 11:8). The Scriptures speak so characteristically about the sorrowing of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30).

We may know that God is a Loving Father, who intensely sympathizes with us and who "knows" our ways. Precisely that knowledge can comfort us in days of distress and sorrow. The suffering does not come from a cold, in-compassionate God,¹⁹ but from a Father whose eyes are always upon us. In that knowledge we may in all our suffering look forward to the glory, which will be revealed to us. Paul writes in Romans 8 that "in this hope we were saved" (vs. 24). God's children may and must live in the Chris­tian hope. The Christian life may be a longing, look­ing forward to the coming glory.

The pastor points out this hope to God's suffer­ing children. Soon all suffering will belong to the past. God shall personally wipe all our tears away (Revelations 21:4), the very tears which we have shed on this earth. And no one shall say any more: "See, I am ill" (Isaiah 33:24).

No, that hope is not yet a reality. While persever­ing in our suffering it is, however, important to hope for that which we do not yet see (Romans 8:25). Thus ministers and elders can visit the sick and the sor­rowing and comfort them in a truly Christian way.