Every believer wrestles with the same devastating question: Why would a loving God allow such pain in the world?

The silence feels deafening when tragedy strikes or when we fail our loved ones. The loss can be unbearable at times. The betrayal of friends cut deep. And the natural response is anger—anger at circumstances, at ourselves, and often, at God.

But what if the suffering that has tested, and possibly broken you, was never a mistake?

This is not a dismissal of the reality of real pain. Dr. M. P. Manahan, Sr., a theologian who has spent 36 years walking alongside the incarcerated and broken at Rockview State Correctional Institution, understands suffering intimately. He’s heard the cries of men who’ve lost everything. He’s witnessed faith kindled in the darkest places.

And he’s discovered something that transforms everything: Your trials are not accidents. They are divine appointments.

The Difference Between Tempting and Testing

There is an important distinction to be made between testing and tempting. God absolutely tests His people, but he never tempts them—“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’ [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one” (Jas 1:13). How do we explain the fact that temptation can be considered a type of test? To answer this, it is essential to consider that the main difference is the source and purpose of the test. Tests that come from God are given to build faith and increase maturity in believers. In other words, God tests to reveal and strengthen the character of His people (Jas 1:2-4, Jas 1:12, Rom 5:3-4). Tests that come from the world, the flesh, and the devil, are focused on revealing the weakness of the individual, and to cause the person to fail, and ultimately to be destroyed.

How Suffering Serves a Purpose

Consider the life of Job. His suffering was devastating: family lost, wealth destroyed, health ravaged. Yet God allowed it not as punishment, but as refining fire designed to reveal God’s character at a level not previously known by Job.  We see that Job’s contest deepened his relationship with God. Job moved from a position of having only head knowledge (“I had heard of You”-Job 42:5) of God to one of spiritual unblinding that resulted from experience with God (“But now my [spiritual] eyes see You-Job 42:5”). The book demonstrates that God tests all of His people, and that many of us will have at least one contest where we are driven to the limits of our tolerance. Will you remain loyal to God? Are you willing to accept suffering even if you do not know why? Do you believe that God is truly in control?

Or look at the Apostle Paul, who asked God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” God’s response was stunning: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Suffering accomplishes what comfort cannot:

• It deepens faith. Surface belief shatters under pressure. Only faith rooted in God’s Word, and personal encounters with God, will survive the storm.
• It reveals what we truly value. When everything is stripped away, what remains? That’s what matters.
• It expands our capacity to love. We cannot comfort others in ways we’ve never been comforted. Your pain becomes your greatest ministry.
• It conforms us to Christ’s image. Jesus endured the cross—not avoiding suffering, but walking through it with purpose.

The Great Contest Reframes Your Pain

In the spiritual realm, an unseen battle rages for your soul. Satan whispers that God has abandoned you, and that your pain proves He’s powerless or indifferent.

But in The Great Contest, Dr. Manahan reveals the truth: God authors every test in your life, and none of them are wasted.

This changes everything. It means:

• Your suffering is not evidence of God’s absence, but proof of His presence in your life.
• Your endurance in trials is evidence of a faith that’s real.
• Your ability to help others who suffer becomes a testimony to His faithfulness.

What This Means for You Today

If you’re facing a trial today—grief, betrayal, loss, fear—you stand at a crossroads.

You can curse the pain and darkness, or you can ask: What is God teaching me? What strength is He developing in me? How might He redeem even this?

This isn’t false optimism. It’s not pretending the pain doesn’t exist. It’s recognizing that the God who holds the universe in His hands holds your pain, too, and has a purpose for it.

Your suffering is not a detour from God’s plan for your life. It’s the heart of His plan.