Good in ALL Things?

I’ve been thinking about something that my pastor wrote to me in an email…re: Romans 8:28…

“And we know that in all things, God works together for the good of those who love him and are called to conformity with Christ Jesus.” (for those of you who don't recognize the reference).

He said, “I do not know that God works good in everything, simply that he is working good in ALL things…” That is a very interesting and surprisingly deep thought. Because so many times when disaster or unbelievable pain or loss occurs we want to scream at God that we are unwilling to be His instruments to bring goodness to the world if it comes at the expense of our happiness – or even survival. We look at senseless tragedy like Columbine or the Sept 11th catastrophe and think “What POSSIBLE good can come from this? And what kind of a sadist God would exact so heavy a price for some goodness?”

Now it is true that out of both of these incidents and in probably every tragedy that has ever occurred have arisen to public consciousness tales of love and bravery. Or of changed lives (for the better)…So where does the truth lie?

Here’s my guess:

God is working throughout human history to redeem mankind—from his personal sin, from the sins of others, and from the horror that grips the planet and all creation. We can KNOW that there will be a happy ending…not just a “and they all lived happily ever after…” but it will be a bliss and an uncontainable joy that will rock the heavens…for eternity! For those who put their trust and faith in Christ Jesus, it will be a climax that will be better than all of our wildest dreams and imaginations and wishes combined. So we have that assurance: When this world begins to be increasingly rocked by terror and disaster…when the very stars start to fall from the skies…we can rest assured that it must get worse before it can get infinitely better, and that knowledge carries us a long way on the path of endurance. Speaking as someone who lives with unceasing pain, I can testify to that personally. THIS IS NOT ALL THERE IS!! THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS!!

But what about our individual, personal disasters…the rip-your-heart-out agonies such as a mother experiences watching her young child suffer and die? Are they all “for the good”?

I don’t believe that they all are. I think there are some things that are just sheer, pointless agony…caused by the sin-cursed world we live in. I think there are things that make the heart of God weep, which He permits in order to remain true to his overall plan and the rules which he has established for himself to obey…(perhaps that was badly worded…maybe “in order to remain consistent with the qualities of His character and his overall dealings with mankind as he carries out his ‘BIG PLAN’—meaning the redemption of all things: snatching from the very grip of Satan and stealing from the jaws of death and hell all who would answer his invitation to come” would be a more appropriate way of saying it In other words: there are some things; some horrific things which must be allowed for the greater good. And this good will not just be enjoyed by our successors, but by we ourselves, if we are his children.

In wars, such as WWII or the Revolutionary War, where the cause of liberty ultimately won, there were some tragic losses and suffering. Soldiers died and I’m sure that God’s heart wept with those who mourned their going….but ultimately, those people could take great pride in the choices their loved ones made, which cost them their lives, but resulted in the freedom for the rest of the people. The greater good was accomplished, at a high price, but that makes the victory really so much sweeter and valuable, doesn’t it?

If the war had been lost – and they’d died for nothing, how much more tragic! So we who suffer can take delight in our pain, knowing that somehow, inexplicably, God uses our sacrifice and pain to wreak a sweeter victory. When we stand at the gates of the Holy City and know that pain, suffering and death, are but a memory, HOW MUCH MORE SHALL WE SAVOR OUR FREEDOM FROM THEM than we would have had we never suffered? A battle easily fought and won is not so satisfying as is a long hard fight with bountiful and delicious reward.

And looking once more at specific events: they are not all good…but God, in his mercy and goodness, often BRINGS good through them or as a result of them…even if it is "just" a sharpened hunger for heaven…or a refinement in our character…or a lesson in endurance…or trust. And I think that when we make decisions to allow God to have his way and to choose to respond in a way that pleases him; he will heap on so much more reward in the end…and in this life too. We DO have an influence in the outcome of our sufferings. We can choose to let them embitter us and turn us against a loving God, blinding ourselves to his intentions and plans—or we can cooperate with the process of purification that suffering accomplishes in us. We have a choice. The choice will not only affect our today and our tomorrow…but our forever.