“If God is good, why would God allow that to happen?” You can fill in whatever “that” is for you. We’ve all had something (or many things) happen in our life that absolutely breaks our heart – some great loss or disappointment, some life stopping occurrence. It is natural to wonder why God would allow it to happen, to cry out from our sorrow.
I’ve had things like this happen – divorce, death, paralysis of my mom. Yet, I’m still here. Still living life. Still filled with a God given purpose as long as I’m breathing in and out.
“And 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. (Romans 8:28 NLT)”
How can God work bad things out for the good? I don’t have a general answer for this, but I have seen God do this in my life. I’ll give just one example. My mom was paralyzed from her neck down due to a car accident when I was 21 years old.
She was driving to see me.
I saw her struggle through various recovery methods and all the adjustments she had to make because she could no longer do anything by herself. While my heart grieved for her and all she lost in this accident, something else happened.
I grew profoundly grateful for life. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all the things I could do that she no longer was able to do. Simple things – brush my own hair, pick up my fork and take a bite, dance, ride a bike, hug those I loved. The list was so long.
Life is precious and it can change or end in an instant. This truth isn’t meant to make us afraid of death, it is meant to help us be full of life! This moment happens once. What are we doing with it?
Time and time again God has used tragedies to show me something profound. The greatest gift my broken heart has given me is the gift of compassion. God’s love flows through my broken heart and pours out of all the cracks onto everyone else. I think if my heart didn’t have those broken places, His love wouldn’t be able to pour out in the same way.
We know when we pray that it is Jesus who brings our prayers to the Father. I like to think that because he felt all the sin and sorrow of the world that his compassion for us pours our requests out to the father in a more powerful meaningful way.
If you’ve had these tragedies or past troubles in your life, trust that God WILL work them all out for your good. By no means are you disqualified because of a rough past. Even more so, God is able to use you to glorify His goodness. Do allow Him to heal the open wounds in your heart.
Trust that your story will encourage others to persevere through their tragedies.
Let God’s love pour out through your broken heart. It will be something beautiful to behold!
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