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And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. - Rom 8:28

Difficulties and hardships, byproducts of a fallen world, abound in this life. When we become mired in troubles it is hard to see that the providential hand of God is at work. It can especially be a challenge for Christians to remember that God ultimately uses our trials and tribulations for good, but that is exactly what the Bible tells us. The passage above from Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of the scripture’s most reassuring responses regarding the pain and suffering believers endure in this world.

In times of calamity it is typical of the natural man to ask, “what kind of a god would allow such things to happen?” As with all other events, God in His infinite wisdom
causes or allows hardships and difficulties to befall mankind. It is all to His intended purpose, which we may never understand in this life, but Christian believers—“those who are called”—are specifically assured that all things work together for their good.

God did not simply set the universe in motion at some point in the distant past and is now letting things randomly play out as they might; He purposely controls every single thing that happens, including the twists and turns in a believer’s life, all intended for ultimate good.

Scripture is replete with illustrations of this truth, and the life of Joseph is perhaps the classic example. His circuitous path to prosperity was marked by incredible difficulties and suffering, however God was with Joseph, providentially guiding the circumstances of his life at every turn. From being sold into slavery by his own brothers, to being wrongfully imprisoned, to eventually becoming prime minister of Egypt and saving all of Israel from famine, Joseph understood that God was with him making the things in his life work toward the results He intended. As he later explains to his abject brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” In the same way God was with Joseph, He is with every Christian, directing the events of their lives to His intended outcome—one that is always good, though they may not always perceive or appreciate it at the time, and always fulfilled in its due course.

The ultimate comfort for believers is that they belong to Jesus Christ, and that no matter what happens in this world, they are eternally safe. Still, God does not promise the believer that they will not encounter hardship and tragedy; these things are the unavoidable consequences of life in a sin-afflicted world. What God does promise however, is that the believer will not go through these things alone, and that even evil things are made to work for good. This is a blessing and a comfort that Christians know through their faith and trust in Jesus.

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Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

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