When the weight of human cruelty and unjust suffering falls upon innocent lives, the human heart cries out with the ancient lament of the Psalmist: “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). From the modern horrors of human trafficking in forgotten corners of the globe to the historical atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade, the ache of suffering raises a profound question: Where is God when evil seems unchecked? Scripture does not dismiss this anguish; rather, it reveals a God who draws near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18) and exercises sovereign authority over the darkest chapters of human history.
This tension between human wickedness and divine sovereignty is vividly captured in the life of Phillis Wheatley. Snatched from her Senegambian home as a seven-year-old child, forced through the horrific “Door of No Return,” and subjected to the terror of the Middle Passage, she was brought to Boston in chains and sold as a domestic servant. Yet, even in the belly of a slave ship and the oppression of colonial bondage, the darkness was not dark to the Lord (Psalm 139:12). God was orchestrating an extraordinary testimony of redemption that would confound the wise and display the power of His sovereign grace (1 Corinthians 1:27).
As explored in Dr. K. A. Ellis’s examination of Wheatley’s life and ministry, Read the source article, God’s providence is never identical to His moral approval of man’s sin, but it is His almighty power working through even the most grievous circumstances to accomplish His holy purposes (Genesis 50:20).
The Biblical Diagnosis: Human Depravity and God’s Holy Sovereignty
To understand the problem of evil, we must begin with what Scripture truthfully diagnoses about the human condition. The Bible makes clear that evil originates not in the character of God, but in the fallen, rebellious heart of mankind: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The atrocities of slavery, oppression, and violence are direct outworkings of human sin, where men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness and exploit their fellow image-bearers (Romans 1:18, Romans 3:10-12).
God is of purer eyes than to approve evil, and He cannot look on wrong with favor (Habakkuk 1:13). The transatlantic slave trade was a severe violation of God’s moral law, which explicitly condemns man-stealing and the dehumanization of neighbors (Exodus 21:16, 1 Timothy 1:10). Yet, Scripture draws a vital theological distinction between God’s moral commands and His sovereign providence. God permits human sin for a season, recording and judging it, while simultaneously ruling over its outcomes so that evil does not have the final word (Proverbs 16:4).
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” — Genesis 50:20
When the Wheatley family purchased Phillis and taught her to read, God unlocked a brilliant mind for His own glory. By age nine, she had mastered English, Latin, and the sacred Scriptures. Sitting high in the segregated gallery of Boston’s Old South Meeting House, she heard the gospel preached from the Book of Acts, encountering the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who eagerly received the Word of God and was baptized into the family of faith (Acts 8:26-39). Phillis realized that the promises of Scripture were not the exclusive domain of earthly power-brokers, but an invitation extended to every nation, fulfilling the prophetic promise that “Cush will stretch out her hands to God” (Psalm 68:31).
The gospel obliterated the false barriers erected by human prejudice. In Christ, Phillis discovered her true identity—not as property, but as a beloved daughter of the King of kings (Galatians 3:28). Her conversion was an act of profound spiritual emancipation, demonstrating that while men may bind the body, “the word of God is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:9).
The Cross: The Ultimate Triumph Over Suffering and Evil
How does God answer the problem of human suffering? He does not offer an abstract philosophy; He gives us Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. In the Incarnation, God entered into the agonizing reality of human brokenness: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus was no stranger to affliction; He was despised, rejected, and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).
The pinnacle of God’s redemptive providence occurred at Calvary. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the most unjust, heinous crime in human history—the innocent Son of God executed by wicked hands. Yet, it was simultaneously the supreme demonstration of God’s predetermined plan of salvation: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24; cf. Acts 4:27-28).
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” — Colossians 1:13-14
Through His sacrificial death, Jesus broke the power of the devil, who held the power of death, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15). In His bodily resurrection, Christ conquered the grave, ensuring that suffering, injustice, and death are defeated foes (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). For every believer united to Christ, present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18), and nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
Living in the Light of Divine Providence
Belief in God’s providence is not passive resignation; it is an active, sturdy faith that transforms how we live, suffer, and minister in a broken world (Romans 12:1-2). Disciples of Christ can apply this biblical truth through three core postures:
1. Anchor Your Mind in the Sufficiency of Scripture
When circumstances are bewildering, we must let God’s Word interpret our reality, rather than letting our circumstances interpret God’s character. Phillis Wheatley found life in the Scriptures because faith comes through hearing the words of Christ (Romans 10:17). Make God’s Word your daily lamp and light (Psalm 119:105).
2. Trust God’s Sovereign Care in Deep Valleys
When you walk through personal hardship, remember that God is actively working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). What the enemy designs for destruction, our sovereign Redeemer refashions into an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
3. Proclaim the Gospel of True Freedom Boldly
Like Wheatley, who used her pen to point both the enslaved and slaveholders to the majesty of Jesus, we are called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). We must courageously speak the truth in love, standing against earthly oppression while pointing everyone to the only One who can set the captive spiritually free (John 8:36, Luke 4:18).
The Free Gift of Grace in Jesus Christ
The deepest captivity known to humanity is not physical shackles, but the spiritual bondage of sin. Scripture warns that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin (John 8:34), and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The wages of our sin is eternal death and separation from our Creator (Romans 6:23). No earthly privilege, moral achievement, or intellectual brilliance can wash away the guilt of our rebellion (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Yet, the glorious gospel announces that God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ carried the wrath of God on the tree, died as our substitute, and rose bodily on the third day to grant eternal life to all who call upon His name (1 Peter 3:18).
Today, the Lord calls you to repent of your sins and trust completely in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). In Christ, your past is forgiven, your chains are shattered, and you are made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), awaiting the day when He will wipe away every tear and make all things new (Revelation 21:4-5).
