How can free will coexist with God's sovereignty, especially in the face of suffering and questions about salvation?

Answer 1

Your question is an incredibly deep one, and some answers have already been given. I'd like to supplement the those answers with one that hasn't yet been suggested (but which is a rather old understanding of God's role in human freedom). One school of Thomistic thought (that is to say, some thinkers who follow Thomas Aquinas) holds that God is the supreme cause of all actions, including the actions of free beings. In this way of thinking, God causes the freedom of the individuals; God causes the individuals to freely act, similarly to how God causes chance events to occur as coincidences (rather than as necessary events).



For a striking discussion of the relation between human action (including sin) and God's all-encompassing causality, see Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, Question 79, Article 2 (the article is titled "Is the act of sin from God?"). The works of Garrigou-Lagrange on Grace and Predestination are also very illuminating on this subject. If you can read Latin, you may also be interested in the works of Domingo Banez as well as Norbert del Prado.

Answer 2

several classic answers

1. God in his infinite wisdom sees how suffering is beneficial but we in our finite minds can't see it. God works in mysterious ways is the Bible verse. Job gives some clues
2. suffering is an illusion, like Christian Scientists and some Hindus claim. It's a warning but isn't real. its a warning to help us avoid bad situations.
3. free will. humans have free will and we cause the suffering, not God. humans with free will are better than created human robots
4. John Stuart Mill's "soft determinism" arguing free will is compatible with determinism.
5. the God of this world is Satan and he causes suffering as in the book of Job

Answer 3

If you’re struggling with faith because of loss or injustice, know this: God is not indifferent to your pain. He sees. He knows. He weeps. And He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).

Faith doesn’t mean having all the answers—it means trusting the One who does. And sometimes, the most honest prayer is, “Lord, I believe—help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).