Sharon Dirckx works at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and came to Cardiff to help with the 'Convinced' mission run by the Christian Unions at the universities in Cardiff. She preached this sermon less than 48 hours after a series of terrorist attacks in Paris. She has written the book Why? published by IVP on the problem of suffering.

Sharon Dirckz's book is called 'Why?' Why is there so much suffering?
1. We observe it.
2. We experience it in wide-ranging ways.
People have struggled with this for years.

Suffering is a deep, deep mystery. If there is no God, there is no one to ask 'Why?' Suffering creates an awareness of a moral law, that some things are intrinsically wrong.
An atheist would say that suffering rules out God.
If God is so loving, why does he allow so much suffering? Why hasn't he created a loving world? At the heart of the Christian faith is a God who is live. But freedom must allow us to make wrong choices. Sin is saying to God that we don't need him. Much suffering is caused by us living in a broken world.
Does God even care about my suffering? Why doesn't he get his hands dirty? God became a human being, caring about suffering. Jairus and the woman used their freedom to ask Jesus for help.

At the centre of the Christian faith is a symbol of torture and death. Jesus was separated from the love of God during his worst time of suffering. Evil does not have the last word. There is no pit too deep that God cannot

If God is real, why doesn't he get rid of evil once and for all?

There will be justice in a new heaven and a new earth. It hasn't happened yet because of God's mercy.