How God Uses Grief and Troubles to Help Me Grow

In review of Romans 8:28 it says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (NIV).

Today’s verse is Romans 8:28. It says, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God works in "everything", not just isolated incidents, for my good. This doesn't mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for my long-range good. God is not working to make me happy, but to fulfill his purpose. This is not a promise for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by him, that it, those the Holy Spirit convinces and enables to receive Christ. Such people have a new perspective, a new mind-set. As I trust in God, and not in life's treasures; I'll find my security is in heaven. I can put my faith in God when pain and persecution come because I know that God is with me.

Grief, loss, and pain are an inevitable part of life. God uses these things to help me grow, He does it in three ways.

First, God uses pain to get our attention. C. S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.” Pain is God’s megaphone. We rarely change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat. Proverbs 20:30 says, “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways” (GNT).

Second, God brings good out of bad. One of the most famous verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (NIV).

When I experience a loss, it’s an opportunity to grow in character. I can’t control the pain I go through, but I can decide whether it’s going to make me bitter or better. I decide whether it’s going to be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block. I have to remember that even in my pain, God is working for my good.

Third, God prepares us for eternity. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen” (CEV). The material things I accumulate here on earth, will not go with me to heaven. But I will take my character. I’m taking me.

God’s more interested in my character development than in my comfort. Why? Because I can get comfortable in heaven, but this is the get-ready stage. This is the learning stage. This is the warm-up act. God uses my troubles here on Earth to get me ready for an eternal glory. That’s a comfort.

When I’m in pain, I need to ask, “What is God doing?” Is he trying to get my attention? Is he trying to bring good out of bad? Is he preparing my character for something later in life or in heaven?

Bottom Line:

What happens to us God works for our good, if we love and are called according to his purpose.

What this means to me:

Because I love God, I can put my into knowing that what happens to me he'll use for my good and for his purposes.

In summary, God causes everything in my life to work together for my good, because I love him and have been called according to his purpose. God is not working to make me happy, rather he's working to fulfill his purpose through me. God uses pain to get my attention, to bring good out of bad, and to prepare me for eternity.

Father thank you for calling me for a purpose and working to grow me through what I experience. I pray this morning for your wisdom and guidance in my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. Help me to keep the perspective that you have called me for a purpose and that you are working to grow me though what occurs.  I ask this through your Son Jesus name, amen!