Why do good people suffer?
It’s one of the oldest and deepest questions in human history—and one that haunts even the most faithful. If God is all-powerful and loving, why does He allow pain, injustice, and sorrow—especially in the lives of those who serve Him?
Throughout history, people have tried to make sense of suffering. One ancient approach is found in the Stoic concept of Amor fati—Latin for “love of fate.” The idea? Whatever happens to you—good or bad—embrace it as necessary and good. Don’t just accept fate. Love it.
In practice, Amor fati can foster qualities that Christians also value: resilience in hardship, acceptance of what we cannot control, and mental discipline in adversity. These traits aren’t inherently unbiblical—we see them in figures like Job, Paul, and Jesus. But the foundation of Amor fati is where it falls short.
Let’s explore what Scripture teaches about suffering—especially righteous suffering—and how it offers something far greater than Stoic resignation.
I. The Limits of Amor Fati
The Stoic phrase Amor fati means “love of fate.” It’s not just passive acceptance of what happens in life—it’s an active embrace of everything, including loss, pain, and tragedy. For the Stoic, the ideal is not to change the world, but to change your attitude toward it. If life throws you hardship, the answer is not to resist or lament it—but to love it, because it must be necessary.
Marcus Aurelius wrote: “A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” In other words: turn every obstacle into fuel for growth.
This kind of mindset has powerful appeal. It preaches resilience and inner peace. It seems noble. It avoids self-pity. It allows the sufferer to preserve dignity without complaint.
But Amor fati also has profound limitations.
A. It Offers No Comfort for the Innocent
If everything that happens is part of a necessary whole that must be loved, then even the most horrific injustices must be embraced. But what do you say to the child born into abuse? Or the woman suffering persecution for her faith? Or to the family whose baby dies of cancer?
Amor fati responds: “This, too, is part of the plan. Love it.”
That is not comfort. That is fatalism.
Christianity does not ask the sufferer to love the pain. It does not declare tragedy to be intrinsically good. Instead, it acknowledges the wrongness of suffering and promises that God can redeem it. The Bible dares to say something Stoicism cannot: “We weep, and God weeps with us.”
B. It Requires Emotional Detachment
At the core of Stoic teaching is apatheia—freedom from emotional disturbance. Emotions like grief, fear, or even joy are seen as vulnerabilities. If you don’t feel deeply, you won’t be wounded deeply. So Stoics strive to rise above emotion and accept all things with calm detachment.
But Scripture portrays a God who feels—and created us to feel too.
- Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35), even though He was about to raise him.
- God is described as grieving over sin (Genesis 6:6).
- The Psalms are filled with cries of sorrow, joy, confusion, and praise—real emotions poured out in faith.
God doesn’t call us to emotional numbness. He calls us to honest lament, faithful endurance, and joyful hope—even in suffering.
C. It Cannot Promise Redemption
Perhaps the deepest flaw in Amor fati is this: it has no resurrection.
Fate doesn’t heal. Fate doesn’t forgive. Fate doesn’t raise the dead.
Stoicism might help you face death bravely, but it cannot defeat death. The best it can offer is this: “Everything must happen as it does. Be strong.”
But Scripture gives us something far greater: “Everything sad will come untrue.”
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying…” (Revelation 21:4)
The Christian does not glorify fate. The Christian trusts a Father—who is both sovereign over suffering and near to the brokenhearted.
D. It Makes the Universe a Machine, Not a Home
Amor fati sees the universe as a rational, ordered machine. There’s beauty in that system. But machines don’t love. They don’t listen. They don’t come down and die for you.
Christianity teaches that behind the order of the universe is not fate, but a face. Not a cold logic, but a living Lord.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29).
God sees. God knows. God cares.
You don’t need to love fate. You need to trust the Father.
II. Why We Suffer: Sin, Brokenness, and Faith
One of the most harmful assumptions about suffering is that it must be the result of personal sin. This belief was at the core of the arguments made by Job’s friends. In Job 4:7–9, Eliphaz asks, “Who that was innocent ever perished?” He assumes that if Job is suffering, he must be guilty. This is a common error—even today.
While the Bible clearly teaches that sin can cause suffering, it also clearly teaches that not all suffering is caused by personal sin. Scripture offers a broader, more nuanced picture:
A. Some Suffering Is the Direct Result of Sin
There is no question that some suffering is the natural or judicial result of wrongdoing:
The Flood (Genesis 6–9) was divine judgment on a corrupt world.
Hell is the ultimate consequence of unrepentant rebellion.
Crime and punishment, broken families, and broken bodies often follow sinful choices.
Sin often has real-world consequences. A drunk driver causes a fatal accident. A thief is imprisoned. A person who lives in bitterness may suffer from chronic stress and illness. The Bible doesn’t deny the cause-and-effect pattern of sin—it affirms it. But it also shows that this is not the whole picture.
B. Some Suffering Is the Result of Other People’s Sins
This is where Stoicism struggles. Amor fati teaches us to accept all events—regardless of their source—as necessary parts of the whole. But the Bible makes moral distinctions. Evil is evil—even if God allows it temporarily.
Examples:
- A child suffers abuse—not because of anything the child did, but because of someone else’s evil choice.
- A baby is born with addiction because of a drug-using mother.
- Terrorism kills innocent people.
Jesus Himself, the only perfectly righteous man, suffered and died because of our sins (Isaiah 53:5–6).
This kind of suffering challenges both moral intuition and philosophical fatalism. It doesn’t make sense to say, “Just love it.” But Scripture doesn’t ask us to love the pain—it asks us to love the God who can still bring justice and healing out of injustice.
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” — Genesis 50:20
C. Some Suffering Comes from the Sins of a Nation or Society
Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” When a society tolerates corruption, injustice, or immorality, it breeds suffering for everyone—including the innocent.
Examples:
- Courts that fail to punish crime allow criminals to harm again.
- Sexual promiscuity and immodesty can create a culture of exploitation and abuse.
- Neglect of the poor deepens generational hardship.
God often warned Israel and Judah that their national sins would bring national consequences (Deuteronomy 28). These were not random acts of fate, but the fruit of collective rebellion.
D. Some Suffering Is the Result of Adam and Eve’s Sin
Not all suffering is directly tied to our choices or our culture. The Bible teaches that the world itself is broken because of human rebellion at the beginning of creation (Genesis 3).
As a result:
- We age and die.
- Childbirth is painful.
- Work is toilsome.
- The earth is subject to decay.
Paul puts it this way:
“The whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now…” (Romans 8:22)
This means that things like disease, natural disasters, and genetic disorders are part of a fallen world—not individual guilt. They are not “punishments” but symptoms of a cosmos out of sync with its Creator.
E. Not All Suffering Is Caused by Sin
This is where Amor fati and Christianity sharply part ways.
Stoicism makes no moral distinctions. It simply teaches us to love what is. But the Bible says: sometimes what is… is wrong. And that’s why Jesus came—to redeem what is broken.
Job’s friends were wrong to claim that all suffering is deserved. Job himself protested that the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer—and he was right (Job 21). Asaph echoed this same struggle in Psalm 73. Even Jesus encountered this faulty logic when His disciples asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). Jesus replied, “Neither… but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).
III. Suffering as a Test of Faith
The Bible doesn’t shy away from suffering—it explains it.
Job’s story shows that God may allow suffering not as punishment, but as a test.
“When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
James 1:2–4 says trials test and strengthen our faith.
Abraham was tested on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22).
Christians today are called to examine themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Here’s the key:
The Stoic says, “Embrace the trial because it’s your fate.”
The Christian says, “Endure the trial because God is working through it.”
V. Suffering Can Be Valuable
Pain has purpose. Even secular scientists admit that physical pain protects us. But spiritual suffering? That, too, has value:
- It teaches us mortality (Hebrews 9:27)
- It exposes our weakness and teaches dependence on God (Acts 17:28)
- It shapes our character (Romans 5:3–5)
- It enables us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)
Most of all, it gives us the chance to prove that we love God for who He is, not just for what He gives (Job 1:9–11).
Unlike Stoicism, Christianity doesn’t glorify suffering for its own sake. But it does affirm that God can redeem suffering for His purposes.
Trusting in the Mystery
Even with all the biblical explanations—sin, testing, discipline, freedom—there are still moments when suffering doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t fit a neat category. There’s no warning. No obvious lesson. No immediate growth. Only pain… and silence.
This is where many people feel tempted to walk away from faith. But Scripture invites us into a deeper truth:
The writer of Ecclesiastes deeply wrestles with injustice and suffering:
“The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong… but time and chance happen to them all.” — Ecclesiastes 9:11
He doesn’t deny God’s sovereignty—but he recognizes that human wisdom can’t fully decode the complexities of life.
This frustration isn’t a reason to abandon God—it’s a reason to fear Him, trust Him, and obey Him, even when we don’t understand (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Some suffering is simply a mystery.
We may not know why it happens—but we are called to trust who is still in control.
God directly addresses this gap in Isaiah 55:8–9:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
We may never fully understand why something happens on this side of eternity. But that doesn’t mean it lacks purpose. It means the purpose lies beyond our limited view.
Faith is trusting God without having all the facts—because we trust His character.
This is the final and most humbling category of suffering in the Bible: suffering that exists for purposes known only to God. It calls us not to understanding, but to faithful surrender.
The Stoic shrugs and says, “It is what it is.”
The Christian kneels and says, “God, I don’t understand—but I trust You.”
So What Should We Say?
A. Don’t Oversimplify
Avoid clichés or assigning blame. Instead, affirm what you do know: “God is near. He is good. He has not abandoned you.”
We are not called to explain all suffering. One of the most important practical lessons for Christians is this:
Don’t try to explain every instance of suffering to someone else.
We are not omniscient. We do not know what God is doing in every story.
Job’s friends thought they were helping when they tried to explain his pain—but they were wrong, and God rebuked them for it (Job 42:7).
Sometimes the best response is simply to say:
- “I don’t know why this is happening… but I’m here.”
- “God has not abandoned you.”
- “We will wait on the Lord together.”
Silence, presence, and prayer are often better than forced explanations.
B. Name Evil Without Embracing It
One of the reasons Amor fati feels cold and inadequate is because it offers no room to grieve evil. If everything must be accepted, then even injustice must be embraced. But Scripture doesn’t ask us to call evil good.
- It allows us to grieve honestly (Psalm 13, Lamentations 3).
- It teaches us to cry out for justice (Habakkuk 1:2–4).
- It assures us that God will one day set all things right (Revelation 21:4, Romans 12:19).
This is essential: the Christian does not love suffering—but we love the God who can bring good from it. We mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15), and we long for a better world.
C. Trusting God in the Absence of Clarity
This is where Amor fati falls short. Stoicism says, “Accept it—it must be necessary.” But Christianity says:
“Even if it’s inexplicable, God is still good, wise, and near.”
Stoicism offers peace through detachment from meaning.
The gospel offers peace through relationship with the One who gives meaning—even when we don’t understand it yet.
The Christian does not say, “Everything happens for a reason,” as a cliché. We say, “Everything is under the hand of a God who never wastes pain.”
And even if we never know the reason, we know the Redeemer.
“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” — Job 13:15
D. Embrace the Father, Not Fate
The idea behind Amor fati—that we should meet suffering with strength, calm, and even acceptance—has some practical merit. But the Christian doesn’t love fate. We trust a Father. We don’t embrace evil as necessary—we endure it, resist it, and hope in the One who will finally destroy it.
Amor fati tells you to love fate.
The Bible tells you to trust the Father.
One is cold acceptance.
The other is hopeful surrender.
“We don’t love suffering. We love the God who redeems it.”
“We don’t trust in fate. We trust in the Father.”
When you or someone you love faces pain, don’t settle for Stoic silence. Speak with gospel-shaped hope. Lean into the mystery with faith. And remember that the cross shows us God’s love, and the resurrection proves His victory.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” — Isaiah 43:2
Conclusion: Hope Beyond the Fire
Suffering is real. Sometimes it is deserved. Often it is not. Sometimes it shapes us. Sometimes it tests us. Sometimes it simply baffles us. But through it all, God is not absent. He is not uncaring. And He is not silent.
Amor fati teaches us to embrace suffering as an indifferent part of fate. But Scripture shows us a better way: to walk through suffering with a God who grieves with us, strengthens us, disciplines us, and ultimately redeems us.
We may not always know the why, but we do know the who. And that is enough.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18
In the end, the Christian does not say, “I love fate.” The Christian says, “I trust the Father.”
By Jeremy Sprouse
Jeremy has been married to Erynn since August 1999. They are blessed with six children: Jaden, Isaiah, Isaac, Ean, Joseph, and Evelyn. Jeremy preaches for the Patrick St. church of Christ in Dublin, TX and is the author of To Train Up a Knight.
Knights of The Father 