Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: The Reality of Suffering and Evil

Only in the Horror Movies

The world is very interested in evil. There’s a whole bunch of evil on the screen about ghosts, serial killers, psychopaths, war, and so much more. The good thing about watching these movies and shows is that there is an end to all this madness. There is an end to evilness and vile crimes. We all love those cookie cutter endings where justice is served and the good guys win. When the ghosts finally vanish or when the bad guy is behind bars. It’s nice knowing we can turn the TV off or log off the movie platforms simply grateful to return back to a better reality. We don’t have to face the pain and grief these families have to endure or the constant fear of being haunted by ghosts in our homes. But imagine what it would feel like to be in those situations. Can you envision the fear, darkness, and despair that looms over these characters that we watch through the screen? How would it feel to be surrounded by complete utter darkness? Or maybe you don’t have to imagine it if it’s already reality for you right now. It’s terrifying. 

There’s a lot of suffering, evil, and pain in the world. It doesn’t take long for one to see it all around them or even to experience it. The older I’ve gotten, the more overwhelming brokenness becomes a reality. We are invested in seeing evil unravel in other people's lives, but I don’t think we could say the same about ours. Naturally, we want to run away from the actuality of the corruption, pain, and suffering when it creeps into our lives.

It’s an Existing Thing

Darkness is a real thing that all of us experience. Affliction and suffering can come in various forms. It might look like your family slowly breaking apart due to a buildup of bitterness and hidden sins. Maybe it’s experiencing friends backstabbing you and exposing your deepest, darkest secrets to the world as they elevate themselves to look better. Darkness could even be experiencing the death of a loved one, being fired from your job and having no financial stability, losing a baby in your womb or the inability to conceive a child, fighting the battle of depression every morning you wake up, mass shootings in elementary schools, wars happening in Israel, human and sex trafficking, and the list goes on. 

Here’s the reality: being a Christian does not mean that pain and suffering will automatically disappear. Christians, those who put their trust and faith in Jesus, are guaranteed of a new perfect world where all the bad things, like sickness and corruption and evil, will be gone (Rev. 21:1-4). However, we don’t get the perfect and painless life yet. Too often, we begin to believe that being a Christian will automatically erase wickedness and evil in the world right now. Jesus has definitely defeated sin and death. But we still live in the aftermath of a broken world until the new Heavens and Earth is here.

“Christians, those who put their trust and faith in Jesus, are guaranteed of a new perfect world where all the bad things, like sickness and corruption and evil, will be gone (Rev. 21:1-4). However, we don’t get the perfect and painless life yet. ”

Coping Mechanisms

So how do you react to suffering and evil in this world? Everyone has different coping mechanisms. Coping mechanism refers to what you turn to help regulate painful or difficult emotions when dealing with stressful situations. The truth is that some of these only provide temporary relief. However, they don’t ever fix the problems or give true hope in these hopeless situations. Some common unhealthy coping mechanisms people turn to is numbing feelings as an attempt to ignore the pain away. It’s literally ignoring conversations, people, and situations. Some indulge in the party life and find addictions to drugs, money, or living a provocative life. It might even look like finding a friend to be a savior, intentionally being busy with work to avoid what’s really happening, or being addicted to some sort of object or hobby that keeps the mind off of worrisome things.

I have to admit that even as a Christian, it can be tempting to tell ourselves to “trust” in God as a means to avoid the painful reality. Trusting in God is not bad. It’s actually very good. But there’s a way to go about it that can become unhealthy and ungodly. It all depends on if you are truly doing it out of genuine faith or to run away and ignore your circumstances. So think about your motivation in why you trust God and what you do about it. An unhealthy type of trust might look like telling yourself that you have a “weak” faith in God because you still experience pain and suffering in your life. It looks like you telling others that you trust in God but have never prayed to Him about your problems nor opened up to the Bible to encourage you to remain hopeful. It might even look like choosing to share only the good parts of your life, marriage, family, and faith with others at church because you’re worried about it ruining the image of you being a good Christian. The heart of all these examples is to portray everything else except for what’s really happening and going on. As a result of this, it’s a trap for Christians to be avoidant and fake in their relationship with God because of the fear and pressure of maintaining a perfect facade of a Christian image and life.

So what’s your coping mechanism?

You’re Not Alone

But here’s some good news for you. There’s a type of trust in God that is beautiful and good. This type of trust is one that comes out of genuine faith that even though you may still face hardships and dark situations (even as a Christian), you don’t face it alone. This type of trust is finding peace and comfort in depending on God through the darkness. You depend on Him because there is darkness. God is your lighthouse. Without His presence, life’s storms will only break and destroy your boat. There is no way for you to make it out in one piece without Him.

“You depend on Him because there is darkness. God is your lighthouse. Without His presence, life’s storms will only break and destroy your boat. There is no way to make it out in one piece without Him.”

I can’t imagine going through my own heartaches and despair all by myself. Sometimes it feels like true darkness is drowning in the sea of your problems while being alone and isolated. We often think that the absence of suffering in life is the end goal of our commitment to Jesus. But it is not. The end goal is finding comfort in a dark and broken world in God. It’s that we get the triune God, specifically in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is what comforts us in such despairing times.

1. Christians cope with pain by trusting in a God-man that understands our pain, anguish, and sorrow. In this lifetime, following Jesus does guarantee one thing: we never have to go through it alone. Jesus understands what you are feeling right now. He understands the sadness, frustration, hurt, confusion, and agony. He’s walked on this earth for thirty years as a human being and even endured physical torture when He was crucified on the cross. Jesus faced the reality of His dear friend, Lazarus, dying. His response was not to hide his emotion or pretend that it wasn’t there. All He could do in that moment was what we all would do after we lose someone we love: cry (John 11:35). This moment shows the fragile humanity that Jesus shares with us. It should bring comfort to know that we have a friend and Savior who understands the depth of how we feel, why we feel, and what we feel.

2. Christians cope with pain by finding comfort in God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who live inside them. The Holy Spirit is given as a gift for those who believe and trust in Jesus. He dwells inside all believers and seals them (Eph. 1:13). This means that He marks us as God’s children. Here’s the incredible work the Spirit does in your life: the Holy Spirit ministers and intercedes on behalf of your weary heart to God the Father. When you are too weak to pray and are in a fragile state, the Holy Spirit is interceding on behalf of you right now (Rom. 8:26-27). You are never completely alone because of the Spirit living inside of no matter how alone or isolated you are from other people.

“It should bring comfort to know that we have a friend and Savior who understands the depth of how we feel, why we feel, and what we feel.”

All suffering is real. And it’s okay to admit that it’s showing up in your life. Maybe everyday when you wake up, you can’t seem to run away from this constant agony and dread. Find refuge and comfort that you don’t have to feel those feelings of despair, anxiety, and hurt all by yourself. Remember that you have a Savior (Jesus Christ) and a Helper (the Holy Spirit) who will weather through the storms of life with you.