Not long ago, I received a call asking me to go to the emergency room of a local hospital. A church member had been in a terrible accident. When I arrived at the hospital, I realized that the man had died. People were in tears. The man’s wife was sitting by the bed where her husband’s body lay, too distraught to speak. I tried to comfort her and read Romans 8:28 to her. Instead of being comforted, the wife cried even more. I later found out why. In her grief, the words of the verse I had read seemed to state that God was responsible for the accident—that He had taken her husband away from her.
Romans 8:28 contains one of the most loved and most misunderstood promises in the Bible. It’s part of a section of Scripture (8:26-32) in which Paul provides help and insight for those who suffer:
• Pray. Paul reminds us that we have the Holy Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness” (v.26). Jesus calls Him the Parakletos—the Advocate, Comforter, and Helper (John 14:16), who prays for us. The One who helps us to pray when we don’t feel like talking with God or when words can’t express how we feel (vv.26-27).
• Promise. Then comes the great promise that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God” (v.28). Paul is not saying all things are good, because in reality we know that life can be painful. But Paul is saying that all circumstances of life—good and bad, happy and sad-are for our good.
• Purpose. God’s work in our lives has a direction—toward Jesus. He wants us to become “like His Son” (v.29). God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.
God can use all of life’s experiences to make us more like Jesus.
More:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation (Romans 5:3-5).
Next:
How do you respond to suffering? How has God used it to make you more like Jesus?
