Devotional Guide 26 April 2026

 ADULT DEVOTIONAL COMPANION
God and Suffering
 Week 2: What Is God Doing in Suffering Right Now?

Senior Pastor Dr. G. Ryan Perry PhD.
Good Hope Baptist Church
26 April 2026

Theme Verse:
For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Introduction
Pain often asks questions before faith has time to answer.

Where is God?
Why has He not stopped this?
Does He care?
Is this punishment?
Has He abandoned me?

Scripture never mocks those questions. The Bible is full of lament, tears, confusion, and prayers cried from dark places. Yet Scripture also refuses the lie that suffering means God is absent.

Week 1 taught us that suffering was never part of God’s original creation. God made order, goodness, life, and flourishing. Suffering entered through rebellion, sin, death, and a fractured creation. Now Week 2 asks the next vital question:

What is God doing right now while suffering still exists?

The biblical answer is clear: God is present, restraining evil, sustaining His people, forming holiness, extending mercy, and moving history toward restoration.

Day 1 — God Is Near in Pain
Scripture Reading: Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Reflection: Pain often makes God feel distant. Yet feelings are not the final authority. Scripture says God is near. In Hebrew thought, nearness is not mere awareness. It means covenant presence, active involvement, and relational closeness. God does not stand far away studying your pain. He draws near within it. He may not always remove pain immediately, but He never abandons His people in it.

Application: Ask yourself honestly: Have I interpreted my pain more than I have trusted God’s promises?

Today replace “God left me” with “God is near me.”

Prayer: Father, when suffering clouds my vision, remind me that Your presence is closer than my fear. Amen.

Day 2 — Permission Is Not Approval

Scripture Reading: Job 1:12

Reflection: Many struggle here: If God allowed something, does that mean He wanted it? Scripture shows a distinction. God governs all things, yet He is not the author of evil. He may permit what He does not approve and overrule what He hates for higher purposes. Job suffered deeply, yet Satan could move only within the boundaries God established. Evil is real, but not autonomous. Darkness is active, but never sovereign. This means your suffering may be painful, but it is never outside God’s rule.

Application: Write this sentence somewhere visible: What hurts me is not above God.

Prayer: Lord, help me trust that even what I do not understand is still beneath Your authority. Amen.

Day 3 — God Works in What He Did Not Create

Scripture Reading: Genesis 50:20 - You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

Reflection: Joseph did not call betrayal good. He called betrayal evil. Yet he also saw God’s hand above human evil. That is biblical maturity: refusing to rename evil while also refusing to deny God’s sovereignty. Not all things are good.  Cancer is not good.  Abuse is not good.  Betrayal is not good.  Death is not good. Yet God can work in all things for good. God does not need evil to be good. He is so good He can redeem what evil intended.

Application: Think of one painful chapter in your life. Ask: How has God sustained me, taught me, humbled me, redirected me, or used this season?

Prayer: Redeeming God, help me see that evil never gets the last word when You are present. Amen.

Day 4 — God Forms Strength Through Trials

Scripture Reading: James 1:2–4; Romans 5:3–5

Reflection: Trials do not automatically produce growth. Many become bitter, hardened, or hopeless. Yet surrendered suffering can become fertile ground for maturity.
Scripture says suffering can produce:

• endurance
• tested character
• deeper hope
• greater dependence
• spiritual steadiness

This does not mean pain is good in itself. It means God can cultivate life in ruined soil.

Application: Ask:

• What is this season trying to take from me?
•  What might God be trying to grow in me?

Prayer: Lord, if this trial cannot be removed yet, let it at least not be wasted. Produce Christlike strength in me. Amen.

Day 5 — Christ Entered Suffering

Scripture Reading: John 14:1, 27; Hebrews 4:15

Reflection: God did not answer suffering with distance. He answered it by entering it. Jesus knew betrayal, grief, rejection, injustice, pain, loneliness, and death. He is not a detached Savior giving advice from safety. He is the crucified and risen Lord who stepped into human agony. That means when believers suffer, they suffer before One who understands.
Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” He did not deny trouble. He denied trouble the right to reign in the heart.

Application: When pain rises today, say aloud: Jesus understands suffering, and Jesus is with me now.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for entering suffering and becoming a merciful High Priest for wounded people like me. Amen.

Day 6 — The Spirit Sustains Me Now

Scripture Reading: John 14:16; Romans 8:26

Reflection: The Christian life is not surviving pain through self-strength. Jesus promised “another Helper,” the Holy Spirit. Romans says the Spirit helps us in weakness. Sometimes the Spirit strengthens us.  Sometimes, He comforts us.  Sometimes, He convicts us.  Sometimes, He gives words when we have none.
 Sometimes, He simply keeps us from collapsing. You are not carrying suffering alone.

Application: Pause for two minutes in silence today and pray: Holy Spirit, help me in my weakness.

Prayer: Spirit of God, sustain what is tired, strengthen what is weak, and steady what is shaken. Amen.

Day 7 — Glory Is Coming

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:18; Revelation 21:4

Reflection: Christian hope is not a denial of pain. It is certainty that pain is temporary. Paul compares present suffering with coming glory and says they are not worth comparing. That is not because suffering is small, but because glory is immense.
Revelation promises:

• tears removed
• death ended
• mourning ended
• pain ended
• God present forever

The resurrection of Jesus Christ means suffering is real, but never ultimate.
Application: Finish this sentence in your journal: This pain is present, but it is not permanent because…

Prayer: Father, lift my eyes beyond this moment. Teach me to live with resurrection hope. Amen.
 
Weekly Summary: What is God doing in suffering right now?

• He is near to the brokenhearted.
• He is limiting evil.
• He is working redemption.
• He is forming endurance.
• He is sustaining by the Spirit.
• He is preparing glory.
• He is restoring all things through Jesus Christ.

Family / Group Discussion Questions

1. Which truth from this week challenged you the most?
2. Where have you mistaken pain for God’s absence?
3. How have you seen God redeem hard seasons before?
4. What does resurrection hope change about present suffering?

Closing Encouragement
© 2026 Dr. G. Ryan Perry, PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Published in partnership with Cross+Walk Ministries and Good Hope Baptist Church.
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