God works all things together for our good and His glory

 What about the events that happen that we cannot explain?

Perhaps this issue is at the heart of our faith as these kind of things seem to happen with regularity.  Someone we know dies, and either they are very young , and also generally good people in the spiritual realm.  We cannot fathom why this happens.  

We usually go through the stages of grief in our loss. Our first reaction is shock.  I was returning from a visit to a local restaurant in another town near us when I heard the news.  My first reaction was disbelief.  How could this happen?  At some point in our feelings and thinking the other stages also appear... We feel anger , disappointment, bargaining and finally acceptance.  Yet most of us, being quite human, go through these stages again and again.  

I thought of a book I have that began to help--- All Things for Good   by Thomas Watson.  Do all things happen for our good ?  That is the real question we have to wrestle with.  Of course some people are not good at all , and we don't really wonder too much about their fate.  We think, " good riddance".

But if we think long and hard about our belief and our faith.  Do any of us deserve God's favor and love?  That is the question too.  If we understand that all of us are not worthy of saving because of our sin, then we say we then understand true mercy.  God in Romans 8 and 9 through the Apostle Paul explains that quite clearly.

But many have bought into the world's view of God that is He is love only without a thought after it.  That is true . But He is light and a burning fire.  He judges the wicked and loves His people.  He does not blindly love without forethought and foreknowledge.  We can be glad but,  the world does not know God and has no desire to either.  “In Christian worship we acknowledge that if we had received justice instead of charity we would be on our way to perdition.”

—Lesslie Newbigin

Of course the best verse on the thought that God does what is best for all is in Romans 8:28 " For we know to those who are loving God all things work together for good ---those who are called to His purpose"  ( a translation from the Greek) For we know is a verb perfect active tense.  This has meaning and we know is past action with continuing results.

We are called .  This is a genuine comfort in this topsy turvey world in which we try and live according to God's commandments and holy Word. It is certainly not a perfect world yet.  One day when Christ returns He will restore all that is good, holy and just and the world will know He did this.

Yes we can trust God and His promises.  Yes He will judge the wicked and justify the righteous with His love made manifest in His blessed Son.  We all look forward to that day.