My son, Will prior to surgery.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
You’ve heard the adage: God will work this for good.
We hear it quite often. It’s taken from Romans 8:28. (Today’s passage.) But to be honest, it’s easy to question if He’s able to bring good from the painful, dark trials we find ourselves in.
Mother’s Day weekend 2010, I wondered this myself.
I was sitting in the front seat of an ambulance going to UNC Children’s hospital with tears streaming down my eyes. Suddenly Romans 8:28 dropped into my mind.
My son had been vomiting for almost two days. He was in nonstop pain. My husband and I had taken him to an Urgent Care and to the ER three times. Eventually, he was put on a morphine drip, yet was still in great pain. Watching your child in pain and seemingly nothing able to help him, is a horrible thing for any parent.
My response at the thought of Romans 8:28, (very smug, I might add), “I don’t understand how You’re going to use this for good, God. I’ve been begging You to intervene. But You’re silent. Seriously God, how are You going to use this for good?“
God: silent
Once arriving at UNC, Will was rushed into emergency surgery. The surgeon told us the surgery should only take an hour – maybe two.
Almost four hours later, the surgeon resurfaced.
A big portion of Will’s large intestine had twisted and attached itself to the abdominal wall. It was cutting off the supply of blood and oxygen – prohibiting circulation and the intestine was dead. Forty centimeters were cut out of his intestines leaving him with a 6 inch incision in his abdominal area. It had been caught “just in time.”
Sleep deprived hours later, I sat in the NICU holding Will’s hand. He had barely awakened, but was stable. It was early Mother’s Day morning.
I stared at my boy pondering how it was possible that we were in the NICU. How had we been fine one day and in the NICU the next – God seemed to answer my rant from the day before. He suddenly opened my eyes to the purpose of the pain and out of control sickness from the days before.
If God had taken away the pain – as I had begged Him to do – I may not have been sitting in the NICU that Mother’s Day morning. I trembled at the thought of where else I would have been. The pain and the nonstop vomiting was the silver lining through which God brought good.
In that moment, I began praising God for the pain! Through tears I thanked Him for bringing healing through pain. No x-rays, CAT scan, MRI or contrast test could see what was going on inside my 10 year old boy. But God saw it.
If you are in a painful, dark trial, and wondering how in the world God can bring good – hold on dear friend. God is always at work. He is strong enough and powerful enough to do more than we ask or imagine.
Pray Romans 8:28 over your trial or storm. Ask God to open your eyes to see what He’s doing – even in the pain. And watch Him take hard things – things we think will crush us – and eventually use them for good.
To read more about my story: When God is No Where to be Found
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