The Bible says in Romans 8:28 that “in everything God works for the good of those who love him.” Do this simple exercise. Remove the word “everything” and replace it with the symbol of your tragedy. How would Romans 8:28 read in your life? In hospital stays God works for the good. In divorce papers God works for the good. As hard as it may be to believe, you could be only a Saturday away from a resurrection. Hours from that precious prayer of a changed heart. “God, you did this for me?”

“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,” Paul said. “The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope” (Romans 15:4 NCV). These are not somewhere-over-the-rainbow illusions. They are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question, “where is God when I hurt?”

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