We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
It is easy to say that God works for the good of all who love Him and trust His power and control, even over evil. Yet, it is hard to accept and understand when we experience suffering in our own lives, and witness so much suffering in the world. When our lives are filled with joy, love, and hope we often take for granted God’s presence in our lives. But when we enter times of struggle, and suffering that is filled with grief, heartache, anger, and confusion many times we ask, “Where is God?”
You see the thing is God never promised us a world free of sin and its end result, for pain and suffering are as old as humanity and are truly universal human experiences that not even the disciples escaped. In fact, a world that is full of suffering and injustice is not proof that God does not exist, but proof that darkness and sin exists and is part of our lives.
We may wish for a God that interferes and makes all well in the world, but if He did then we would have to give up our freedom to make choices, essentially becoming puppets. What God does promise is to be with us through our suffering so that we may grow and become more than we were before.
We, yes we, are part of God’s response to the ongoing suffering in our world. We are drawn together by the Spirit so that we may share in life together, sharing not only in the joys but taking on each other’s burdens and leaning on each other. While our community may not be able to change circumstances, it is in our community that we can find strength, comfort, and support, learning to trust that God works for the good of all who love him and that we can have hope for what is yet to come.
God's Up To Something 