“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NASB).

I’m one of those annoying people who always wants to know why! I don’t want just to know how, I want to know why!

And one of my big “Why?” questions is, “Why do some very bad things happen to some very good people?”

I suppose the question I’ m really asking is, “Why does God allow some very bad things to happen to some very good people?”

Romans 8:28 is often used as an answer to that question. “All things work together for good!” we banally respond when tragedy strikes.

But, being the curious fellow that I am, I find some questions still remain when confronted by the Romans 8:28 explanation. For example, I  find myself asking, “Were these good people first bad people and then they became good as a result of bad things happening to them? Or were they already good people and the bad things that happened to them showed how good they really were?”

But the more I ask “Why,” the less I understand why! The more explanations that are presented, the more questions I have!

It seems that the more I know (or think I know) about God’s His plans and purposes, the more I realize I really don’t know what I think I know!

So, to retain my faith (and my sanity), I’ve concluded/accepted that I can’t always understand or explain what plan or purpose God has in mind when bad things happen to people. Nor is it necessary for God to ask my advice or even explain His intentions to me.

With God’s will, there are things that are beyond my understanding. And that’s for a reason. When the answers to our questions  are beyond understanding, that’s when faith takes over. Faith starts where understanding ends!

Fortunately, God hasn’t left me completely clueless. Here’s what I do know about God’s plans and purposes for His created order and for me (and, I suppose, this is my interpretation of the  Romans 8:28 explanation).

God is Love. Consequently, He wants to have fellowship (a relationship) with humanity, with His created order. But human beings are inherently willful and rebellious (which is no surprise to God, He created us that way).  So we are in need of restoration (again, no surprise to God, He planned it that way).

Because God is love and because we are rebellious, God has a restoration plan. Our redemption is God’s plan!

Redemption is the whole purpose behind the created order, so it’s no surprise to God that He has to redeem His creation. It’s not because of some oversight when He created the universe. It’s not because He made a mistake when He made people. Our redemption and salvation have always been God’s plan!

Now that may seem to be a  big theological leap for a guy that asks a lot of questions and doesn’t have many answers! But I can take this leap of faith because I know that God is love and human beings are rebellious and when you put these two facts together, you reach this conclusion: God can best reveal His love and mercy to me when I am broken.

Then, it’s really not hard to understand how God can cause all things to work together for our good. Bad things happen to us because we are broken and God wants to repair us. That’s what He does. That’s Who He Is!

And, repairing us when we are broken IS the cosmic plan!

Now, God has a Repairman, Jesus Christ. God has sent Him to fix our brokenness and restore our rebellious natures to obedience to God.

And, He can make a service call on your broken life today!

Related articles

• Repaired – Romans 8:28, Part 2 (stevesbiblemeditations.com)
• The Greater Good – Romans 8:28, Part 3 (stevesbiblemeditations.com)
• Life Is Messy – Romans 5 (stevesbiblemeditations.com)
• The Redemptive Power of God (924jeremiah.wordpress.com)