And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose

Many a times, we all go through some difficult situations in our lives, and most of those times, we think that there is no escape for us from the situations we are stuck with. In such situations, we might lose our hope in what we believe is true. When our expectations come to an end and our hope dies down, just pause and recall into our memory what God has done for us up until that moment and try to count all the blessings one after another that God has done in our life. Remember, in several occasions in the past, we were in similar situations and thought that we will not make it this time, but now, we are here right now. God is awesome and His plan to keep us safe and secure is amazing because He already prepared the blueprints for each of our life-paths on earth. There might be ups or downs, mountains or valleys, joys or sorrows, light or the absence of light in our life-path, but God will make a way when there seems to be no way. Just imagine the way God has been taking care of His creation from the beginning, especially mankind, including you and I. Even before the mankind was formed, God created the earth and everything in it for our survival and sustenance. So, when things do not go in our way or in the way we planned, we should not murmur or rebel against God or question Him, rather we should submit our lives into His hands and tune our will according to God’s Will for us.

There is no doubt that, many a time, we all go through painful situations in our lives and most of the time we do not understand why we are suffering or how we ended up in such situations. As Christians, we can understand that we go through such sufferings because of three main reasons (definitely, there will be more, but let us focus on these three), and they are: (i) the consequences of our sinful actions brings sufferings; (ii) when God Disciplines us, it brings pain/suffering into our lives; and (iii) testing of our faith brings pain/suffering in our lives. In all such situations, only God can help us because of His Omnipotence (all-powerfulness), Omniscience (all-knowing), Omnipresence (present everywhere), and His all-loving and compassionate nature. He will definitely bring deliverance and comfort to His faithful followers.  Let us dive a bit deeper into the three reasons we outlined.

(i) The consequences of our sinful actions brings sufferings in our lives: Ever since our great, great, great grandparents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God’s command and sinned against God’s will, humanity has been under the grip of sin and its influence. It is not only every wrongful word or deed which brings judgement upon us, but even not obeying God’s commands itself is a sin before God. Even knowing what is right (good) and not doing it also brings us under God’s judgement. We must understand that every action (good or bad) has its own consequence and each person must bear the consequences of their own willful wrong actions. Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia not to be deceived by doing sinful acts (in word or deed) because there are consequences for every word spoken and action performed whether it is good or bad:

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:7-10).

King Solomon, based on his knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and life experience and experiments, also mentioned long ago (about three thousand years ago) regarding God’s judgement upon man’s every action, whether it is good or evil:

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

As the children of God, our words and deeds must be aligned with the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. In our spiritual journey, we must listen to the Word of God, choose the path Jesus set for us, abide with the Holy Spirit, and obey God’s commands, because our sole responsibility is to fear God and keep His commandments.

(ii) When God Disciplines us, it brings pain/suffering in our life: God disciplines everyone who He loves and sometimes it is really painful and raises questions about His love for us. The author of Hebrews quotes from Proverbs 3:11-12 that My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in (Hebrews 12:5-6). Jesus went through a season of agonizing pain for a good cause, that is, to redeem humanity from judgement and ti give them eternal life (Matthew 26-27; Mark 14-15; Luke 23-24; John 18-19). When we read John 15:2, we can understand that the Gardener prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will be even more fruitful. In this situation, the pruning is not taking place because the branch is not bearing fruits but because it is bearing fruits, in order that it will bear more fruit. Such pruning experiences are very painful. God disciplined king David when he married Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11-12). When God chose Joshua to lead the Israelites after the death of Moses, He gave strict guidance to Joshua as he is involved in the ministry of God. God gave His commands to discipline even before Joshua started his ministry. As the leader of God’s people, he had to keep aside his personal plan and purposes, but follow God’s set life-style, his conversations/words and actions/deeds must be within the blueprint God has prepared for his ministry. It might be difficult to follow these commands but not painful. It will become painful if the person disobeys God’s commands and God tries to correct the person to live according to His commands. When God disciplines, it comes with afflictions – sometimes, it is too hard to bear the pain it causes. God commanded Joshua:

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:7-9).

When we study the life and ministry of Joshua, he did everything according to God’s command. Joshua, even during his old age, was ready to serve the Lord willfully, as he stated … as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15b). Joshua served the Lord in sincerity and in faithfulness (Joshua 24:14a) until the day of his death – Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten (Joshua 24:29).

(iii) Test of our faith brings pain/suffering in our lives: The test of our faith is inevitable and it is painful. Throughout the Bible the righteous were tested for their faith in God as mentioned in Psalm 11:5 that The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Perhaps, all the righteous persons mentioned in the Bible might have gone through the process of the testing of their faith (Psalm 34:19). The most popular examples of this in the Bible are Abraham and Job. Abraham almost lost his promised son Isaac in the test of his faith, but at the end of his test Abraham got his son Isaac back (Genesis 22). God is faithful! Job who was blameless and upright; who feared God and shunned evil, a man of integrity, lost almost everything in his life (Job 1). However, at the end of the test, God blessed him with a double portion of what he had prior to his test. Apostle Peter wrote to the first century Christians that Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed (1 Peter 1:7).

We, as the followers of Christ, are sojourners on this earth. For that reason, our home is not in here but in Heaven. Since we do not belong to this world, our life on earth is filled with hardships and struggles. Our spiritual journey is not different from that of the journey the children of Israel took from Egypt to Canaan. They traveled through the plains, wilderness, water, and mountainous regions. Sometimes, the journey feels like it is going okay but sometimes it too hard to move on because of the ever-present hardships and struggles we face every now and then as we advance towards our spiritual destination. Many a times, it is too hard to take another step forward and we feel like the enemy is pulling us down. Remember, Jesus promised His presence will go with us always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:20; Exodus 33:14). So, with the power of the resurrected Christ, who defeated every enemy, including death, we can overcome every obstacle we face during our spiritual journey and advance forward victoriously. Therefore, we must keep our focus on Jesus Christ and abide in the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to keep our faith alive, and finish our spiritual race. No matter what circumstances we may pass through – whether happiness or joy or sorrow or suffering, in all these situations – God will work for our good, if we trust in Him. I am very sure that none of us who are alive today have gone through the situations the apostles and early Christians went through for their faith in Christ. Apostle Paul, who suffered tremendously for the sake of his faith in Jesus Christ testified that I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). This was Apostle Paul’s assurance that God will work for the good of everyone who places their trust in Him. This is why he wrote: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

So, let us join with king David and praise God for His faithfulness in our lives. David praised God saying: You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever (Psalm 30:11-12). Amen!