Why Does God Allow Suffering?

In her new book, A Place of Healing, disability activist and Christian author Joni Eareckson Tada takes on a question that has vexed the faithful for centuries: If God can heal people, why doesn’t he always do so? Tada has a strong personal interest in the answer. A quadriplegic since a diving accident four decades ago, she has suffered from crippling chronic pain in recent years and was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this summer. Tada spoke with TIME about finding peace through suffering and continuing to fight for acceptance 20 years after the landmark signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

How are you feeling?

Cancer and chronic pain on top of quadriplegia is a little challenging. Right now I’m tired from the chemotherapy and that, coupled with the pain, makes it difficult. At times I’ve thought, “Lord, this is an awful lot to bear. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” And yet, I know the answer.

Some people think there’s another answer, though. At the beginning of your book, you describe an astounding encounter you had in a church parking lot.

Yes, this very earnest young man named David came up to me, knelt down by my wheelchair, and asked me, “Joni, are you sure there’s no unconfessed sin in your life? I just know that God wants to heal you.” He was basically saying my faith wasn’t big enough or strong enough or righteous enough. I reminded him of the story in Luke where the four friends brought their paralyzed buddy to Jesus to be healed. But it was the faith of those friends — not the man’s own faith — that Jesus used as a channel for healing. Well, there you go, David, the pressure’s on you.  Read Interview

By Amy Sullivan