The shrill sirens once again break through the night’s silence. As a police chaplain, I am often called to provide comfort in tragedy or make sense of human brutality. But as I look into the shell-shocked eyes of grieving family members and see officers reeling from critical incidents, one thing is often asked of me. Why? There is the expectation to make sense of the senseless.
Why did this happen? What is the purpose of this meaningless evil and suffering? Can any redemption possibly emerge from tragedy?
In chaplaincy ministry, I am privileged to stand in the middle ground of the problem of evil and the hope of redemption. I’ve witnessed some of the worst examples of injustice and tragedy this world offers. How can I make sense of such a senseless tragedy? In times like these, I take refuge in the words I recently heard from International Council of Police Chaplains President Jim Bontrager: “God did not cause it, but He can redeem it.” While God does not directly cause evil, even the worst villainy is not beyond His power to repurpose for good. This truth anchors me as I minister to those whose lives have been ravaged by seemingly senseless trauma.
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
The meaningless tragedy is one of the most common stumbling blocks that trip up seekers and believers alike in their spiritual journey—simply stated, if God is perfectly good and all-powerful, why did He allow this to happen? Why do bad things happen to good people while undeserving people thrive?
For those like police officers who witness firsthand the depths of human depravity, the question is not abstract but painfully honest. And in the face of horrific injustice and anguish, neat theological answers seem lacking. As Christian philosopher C.S. Lewis confessed, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Suffering shouts at God and demands an explanation.
Yet Scripture does not deny the reality of evil and suffering. The Psalms cry out at the prosperity of the wicked and plead for God’s justice and deliverance. Jesus Himself wept over the impending devastation of Jerusalem, lamenting, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace!” (Luke 19:41-44). But the Bible also provides hope beyond the horror for all who seek understanding. Its pages reveal that God does not cause evil directly but can redeem every circumstance for the ultimate good. Let’s examine some of the critical truths that offer insight.
God Did Not Originate Evil
In the beginning, Scripture portrays God looking upon His new creation and declaring it very good (Genesis 1:31). But when Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator, their sin introduced suffering and death into the world. The Bible affirms that God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). He cannot be tempted by evil, and He tempts no one (James 1:13). God remains sovereign over all things but He gives humans free will, enabling us to love Him or reject Him. Tragically, humanity’s choice to turn from God plunged creation into brokenness. Our current fallen state thus results from human failure, not divine causation.
Yet God did not abandon His marred creation. The Old Testament narrates God’s repeated grief over humanity’s wickedness and His offers of mercy and redemption. Ultimately, God chose to enter into human suffering to provide the remedy. As Lewis writes in Miracles, “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation.” Writers often focus on the Resurrection, but God becoming human is arguably the most astonishing act of God ever described in Scripture.
The Son of God willingly took on frail flesh, experiencing the range of human emotions and hurts. Then Christ subjected Himself to a cruel, unjust execution to free humanity from bondage to evil. Though now exalted in glory, Jesus retains His humanity. He remains our empathetic high priest who relates intimately to our suffering (Hebrews 4:15-16).
God Redeems Evil for Good
Not only does God identify entirely with our suffering, but He also possesses the power to redeem it. Scripture offers hope that God takes even the worst evils befalling His followers and turns them into good, somehow bringing beauty from ashes. Joseph told his brothers who had betrayed him, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
The apostle Paul echoed this in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This promise does not remove suffering or negate the consequences of sin. But for believers, it ensures that even unjust suffering has significance and purpose within God’s sovereign plan.
C.S. Lewis continues explaining how God accomplishes this: “No doubt pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul.”
In His wisdom, God at times uses suffering to get our attention, develop Christlike character, and enable us to minister to others facing similar trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). Most importantly, pain redirects our hope from temporary comforts to eternal redemption. Suffering helps shift our perspective from the seen to the unseen. As the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
Hope Amidst the Ashes
After allowing evil to take His Son’s life unjustly, God powerfully vindicated Jesus by raising Him from the dead. Christ’s resurrection foreshadows the future restoration of all things (Acts 3:21), when God will erase every effect of sin, sickness, and death. The day is coming when He will wipe away every tear and make all things new (Revelation 21:4-5).
This hope extends even to those who die in Christ. Death has been defeated through Jesus’ victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). For those who put their faith in Christ, the pains of this life give way to an eternity of joy and life without end. As the apostle Paul proclaimed in the face of death, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
As law enforcement chaplains guide the grieving, we point them to the resurrection hope. We acknowledge that though it feels like the end, death is but a transition for believers to glory. God redeems even unjust death as a doorway to eternal life.
Meanwhile, we honor suffering by entering into the darkness with those in their pain. We validate their anguish and bear their pain by gently listening. Through compassionate presence and practical help, we reflect the hands and feet of Jesus. Though evil has marred this world, rays of redemptive light can pierce the darkness. We whisper promises from Scripture that this is not how the story ends. God is still sovereign; He will right every wrong. As we walk with those the world has cast aside, we help them cling to hope that one day they will grasp just how closely God was working – even in their darkest valley.
The Hope of Redemption
When faced with unspeakable cruelty, suffering tempts us to despair. Yet, as Christians, we proclaim redemptive hope, although often through tears. The redemption promised is not always one of the outcomes in this life. But we fix our eyes on the unseen and eternal. We find solace in knowing that God grieves injustice even more than we do. And we remember that the tears and outrage elicited by suffering are signals of undying hope within us that the world should be made right.
The only way to not be overwhelmed with the amount of suffering in the world is to understand that we live in a fallen world, not as we ought to, but as it is. As long as people have free will, they will make choices that hurt others…There is no perfectly just world until the day God finishes remaking and renewing the heavens and the earth.
Meanwhile, we lean into the redemptive story of Scripture, which reveals a God who embraced suffering to conquer it. By taking all of human depravity and darkness into Himself, Jesus redeemed it through love. Our suffering Christ reaches out a nail-pierced hand with compassionate understanding and invitation to allow Him to redeem our pain. Though neither causing the darkness nor removing all its traces, the Light of the World shines into the blackest places, bringing purpose and hope.
We proclaim This profound narrative as law enforcement chaplains, even when our faith trembles. We hold out the hope of redemption amidst the hurricane winds of evil and tragedy. As conduits of Christ’s light, we whisper to victims the promise that the darkness will not win.
The Darkest Valleys Still Echo God’s Voice
When horror and grief tempt us to abandon faith, we do well to recall the words that sustained Christ in His own darkness: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46). Jesus’ anguished cry expresses the real torment of feeling abandoned by God in suffering. Yet this psalm of despair ultimately ends in trust and praise.
We all walk through valleys that seem shrouded in sin’s shadow. In times when God seems most distant, we share Christ’s agonized question. But as chaplains, may we also proclaim David’s resolute conclusion:
“Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
In you, our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people…
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.” (Psalm 22: 3-6; 23-24).
Regardless of circumstances, this truth remains: God hears our cries and redeems our suffering. Even in the darkest valleys, His voice echoes through the despair, beckoning us to hope. As chaplains, may we faithfully reflect the light of Christ to illumine the way until the day when all shadows forever flee away.
Josh Cehulik 