Do All Things Work Together For Good?
Introduction—I have always wrestled with the idea that there is a silver lining in all suffering.
Maybe you have too.
There are moments of suffering that are devastating. Abuse. Loss. Suicide. Rape. Murder.
There are people across the globe experiencing horrific pain. War. Terrorism. Oppression. Racism.
How could experiences like these have a silver lining?
Silver lining is a phrase that essentially conveys that something good can come out of something bad. That good can come out of our experiences of human suffering. That hope is a reality in suffering of all kinds.
Sometimes a silver lining seems contradictory. How could certain aspects of devastating suffering and horrific pain produce good or intersect with good?
Sometimes, at the least, a silver lining seems paradoxical. It seems and feels contradictory. And yet, at the same time, we know that good can arise out of painful experiences in life.
Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28 is one of the most often quoted verses in the Bible. And rightly so. It offers encouragement and hope for those walking through suffering.
"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 NIV)
This is the most direct statement in the entire Bible declaring that good can intersect with suffering. A silver lining statement that has God as the center of good.
Context Of Romans 8:28
The context of this verse is built around a passage discussing suffering. The passage begins with a discussion about the reality of suffering and the promise of future hope for followers of Jesus. It paints a picture that those who follow Jesus live in an in-between reality. In this in-between there is tension. We feel the pain of suffering—it is hard and disorienting. And we know the reality of hope—it helps us keep perspective in the midst of pain. We know that we cannot circumvent suffering in a fallen world. And we know that we have present and future hope in Jesus.
Let me paint a picture of the context of Romans 8:28.
The dual reality of present suffering and future hope. This is the beginning of the conversation about suffering in Romans 8:18-30.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18 NIV)
The challenges of present suffering. In vivid detail, Romans 8:21-23 describes suffering on all levels of creation.
"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed." (vs. 21)
"For the creation was subjected to frustration." (vs. 20)
"The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay." (vs. 21)
"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (vs. 22)
"We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." (vs. 23)
The future hope that we await. Using words and phrases through this passage, Romans 8:21-25 paints a picture of our future hope.
Liberation. (vs. 21)
Freedom. (vs. 21)
Glory. (vs. 21)
Adoption. (vs. 23)
Redemption of our bodies. (vs. 23)
We wait for it patiently. (vs. 25)
The present help that we have. At this point some may ask, what helps us wait patiently for our future hope? Romans 8:26-27 makes clear that we are not alone and not without help in suffering. We have the Spirit of God presently helping us.
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (vs. 26-27)
It is in this context that we are promised that "in all things God works for the good" (vs. 28).
In other words, in our present suffering God is at work for our good. That is a troubling truth for some.
How can God work good in cancer, trauma, loss, war, and other severe moments of human suffering?
How can good intersect with the most painful experiences that humans face?
Important Questions
I believe that there are some important questions we should answer before drawing a conclusion about whether good can intersect with all experiences of suffering.
First, what is included in "all things?"
Second, what is meant by "good?"
Third, how does God "work" good in all things?
All Things Were Good
God created a world without suffering. When God created the world, he called it "good." (Genesis 1:31) Every aspect of creation—from plant life to the ocean—everything was in harmony with God's intention. There was no decay, no seismic climate shifts, no natural disasters, no shortened life spans, no cancers, no diabetes, no chronic pain, no betrayal, no violence, no racism, no depression, no anxiety and no injustice. Humans lived in harmony with one another. The animal kingdom was in harmony with itself. Everything was "good."
Suffering entered human history in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3 we watch the unraveling of God's good design for this world. The first humans decided to walk away from God's goodness and pursue the boundary that God gave them—to not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. This knowledge of good and evil was not a cerebral knowledge, but an experiential knowledge of good and evil. They chose to disobey a good God who made a good world. And from that point on human autonomy apart from God and human rebellion against God's goodness began the undoing of God's design for this world. Humans knew good and they also knew evil and suffering. Suffering became a common human experience.
All Things Are Not Good
All things are not good. We all know that. When suffering presents itself in any form in our lives, we know that it is not good. We feel the "not good" of suffering in our soul. We feel the "not good" of suffering in our body. We know, deep down, in every crevice of our humanity, that suffering is not good.
And this feeling of suffering being not good is theologically correct.
God did not create a world brimming with suffering. That was not God's design for human flourishing. God created a world brimming with goodness. Good was his design for human flourishing.
We observe a pattern in Genesis 1 as God was creating, "and God saw that it was good." This pattern is repeated six times. And at the end of Genesis 1, God gave his summation statement about all of creation saying, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:31 NIV)
The world, and all its parts, only knew good.
Animals only knew good.
Humans only knew good.
Plants only knew good.
Every life form only knew good.
God was the author of all that was good.
God is not the author of all that is not good. In other words, suffering in this world is the antithesis of God's nature and intent for his creation. Human suffering in all of its forms was not God's creative design.
God is not the author of evil. He is good. He is the opposite of evil.
James 1:13 states, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone" (NIV). God does not tempt anyone towards evil nor can God be tempted by evil, because God is good. And good is the opposite of evil.
Suffering is ultimately the undoing of the good that God created.
In life, some things are good and some things are not good. We still experience the goodness that God created and we still experience suffering that is the result of human sin. This is a both/and experience.
As Erwin McManus brilliantly observed, "If you take God out of existence, would you still have suffering?" And the answer is obviously yes. And if so, who is at the root of human suffering? We are ultimately. Human agency. We carry responsibility. We have walked away from God's good design. Humans have created human suffering not only by direct action toward others, but we also have created human suffering by rebelling against God's good design for this world.
All thing are not good.
God Is Good
This is where the promise of Romans 8:28 intersects with people that are experiencing moments of suffering that are not good. It is in these moments of suffering that good can be birthed.
This is a declaration that in all things, despite our human bent and brokenness, God can do good.
What is good?
Good can sound so generic. This makes it hard to understand what exactly it is that can be hopeful in the midst of pain and suffering.
At the foundational level God in his very nature is good. When we say that God is good we mean multiple things.
In the very first chapter of the Bible, good is used to summarize God's creation. The first time this word is used in the OT is in the Genesis approval declarations. God summarized that what he created was good. Everything God created was functioning according to his good design.
The Hebrew word that was used for good is...
טוֹב | tov. This word can be translated as good, desirable, in order, pleasant, or morally good.
God in his very nature is good. He is morally good. He creates only good things. All the good that he creates functions in accordance with his good design. And in his goodness he shows kindness, grace and generosity toward imperfect people.
Listen to how the psalmists declare God's goodness.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him." (Psalm 34:8 NIV)
"You are good, and what you do is good." (Psalm 119:68 NIV)
"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." (Psalm 145:9 NIV)
Here are two summary statements that encapsulate God's goodness.
God is good.
God does good.
You see these two aspects of God's goodness intersecting with human suffering and brokenness throughout the storyline of the Bible.
When Israel was in oppression in Egypt, God rescued and redeemed them, and he promised them a land full of blessing. The word good is used to describe this (cf. Exodus 18:9; Numbers 10:29).
When Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers and falsely imprisoned, God gave him wisdom and favor that allowed him to be elevated as the second most influential ruler in Egypt. He was able to save the Egyptians and his entire family from famine. And by saving his family, he carried on the promises that God gave to Abraham that through his line all the people of the earth would be blessed by the Messiah. The word good is used to describe this (cf. Genesis 50:20).
Good Is Multifaceted
So what are the ways in which God can work good in moments of suffering?
In answering this question, I would like to highlight something that Romans 8:28 seems to definitely declare about God: There is no situation of human suffering where God cannot do good work. He is able to intervene in the hard, painful and crisis moments of life by being good and doing good when things are not good.
But how?
First, there is present good. God can bring present good into our lives in many ways.
God's very presence in the midst of suffering is good (Psalm 34:18).
God's help in the midst of suffering is good (Romans 8:26-27; Psalm 46:1).
God's comfort in the midst of suffering is good (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
God's ability to redeem our suffering for good is good (Genesis 50:2).
God's ability to utilize suffering to form us into the people we were designed to be is good (Romans 5:3-5).
There are so many present good things that God is doing in our suffering just by showing up in our lives and being present in our pain. He has not left us alone in our pain. He is actively present and working good into our lives even when we are experiencing bad.
Second, there is future good. God will bring future greater good into our lives.
God's promise to bring a complete renewal to all things is good (Romans 8:21-25; Revelation 21:1-5).
God's promise that one day we will be free from sin and suffering, and be fully like Jesus is good (Romans 8:29).
God's promise that one day the earth and all life forms will be free from suffering, and earth will be fully renewed back to his original design for human flourishing is good (Romans 8:21-25).
This second aspect of good is one of the main themes threading through Romans 8. One day all things will be made right. One day we will live the ultimate promise of hope to be with God and to be free from suffering for the rest of eternity. And this will be experienced in a totally renewed earth. All people and all things will be well and flourishing. This is the ultimate promise of Revelation 21:1-5. And when we are walking through painful and disorienting moments of suffering in life, we should never lose hope of our future good that God will make a reality for us.
When we experience pain and suffering in life, which were not God’s design for human flourishing and thus not good, God by his very presence, nature and redemptive plan can bring good into our not good human experiences. And this does not diminish the pain of suffering. Hard things are hard. Suffering can be disorienting. Read the Psalms of lament to see this expressed. This simply highlights the hope that we have in the midst of pain and suffering.
Jesus—The Ultimate Story Of Good Coming Out Of Suffering
The death of Jesus on the cross was the most traumatic event in history. It was rejection, suffering and murder on an incomparable level. Devastating suffering. Horrific pain. And it was through the event of the cross that the Son of God suffered out of sacrificial love to bring God's forgiveness and goodness to humanity. What was intended for evil—the rejection and murder of the Son of God—resulted in the greatest good, God's offer of forgiveness and an eternal relationship with him.
Peter Kreeft in an interview with Lee Strobel mentions how the worst event of suffering in human history resulted in the greatest good for human history.
"God has demonstrated that the very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world ended up resulting in the very best thing that has ever happened in the history of the world… the death of God himself on the cross… At the time, nobody saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy. And yet God foresaw that the result would be the opening of heaven to human beings." (Lee Strobel. Is God Real? Zondervan, 2023. 146-147)
We can truly say...
"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 NIV)
There Are Better Days Ahead.
Much Love + Peace,
Wesley, Founder