Napisao sam devet romana. Pretpostavimo da biste mogli intervjuirati likove iz mojih knjiga. Ako biste ih pitali: „Da li biste željeli manje patiti?” Siguran sam da bi odgovorili: „Da!”

Saosjećam sa svojim likovima. Ali kao pisac, znam da će na kraju sva njihova patnja biti vrijedna toga, jer je ključna za njihov rast i za priču o iskupljenju.

Bog je svakog od nas upisao u svoju priču. Mi smo dio nečega mnogo većeg od nas samih.
Bog nas poziva da mu vjerujemo da će sastaviti tu priču, tako da ćemo Ga, na kraju koji nikada neće završiti, obožavati, opuštenih usta pred čistom genijalnošću Njegovih isprepletenih zapleta.

Besmisleni bol?

Ali poput mojih izmišljenih likova, koji nemaju pojma o mojim strategijama, nedostaje nam perspektiva da vidimo kako se dijelovi naših života uklapaju u Božji cjelokupni plan. Rak, invaliditet, nesreće i drugi gubici i tuge izgledaju poražavajuće besmisleno. Međutim, samo
zato što ne vidimo smisao u patnji ne dokazuje da ona nema smisla.

Joni Eareckson Tada slavi pedesetu godinu u invalidskim kolicima. Da li se slavlje čini kao pogrešna riječ? Sigurno za Joni kao sedamnaestogodišnjakinju koja je očajnički željela okončati svoj život. Ipak, gledajući unatrag, vidimo njen eksponencijalni razvoj karaktera i bezbrojne živote — uključujući i moju porodicu — koje je Bog dotakao kroz Joni. Sveto pismo nas uči da u voljenim rukama našeg suverenog Boga, nikada nijedna patnja s kojom se suočavamo nije besmislena, bez obzira kako se čini u tom trenutku.

Koliko puta Bog ima svrhu u događajima koji izgledaju besmisleno kada se dogode?

Sve za naše vječno dobro

Rimljanima 8:28 je jedan od najzanimljivijih stihova u Svetom pismu: „Znamo, Bog u svemu skupa radi na dobro onima koji Ga vole, koji su pozvani Njegovom namjerom.”Kontekst pokazuje da je u svijetu koji stenje i izdiše, Božja briga da svoju djecu oblikuje po slici Hristovoj.I on djeluje kroz izazovne okolnosti naših života kako bi razvio našu sličnost s Hristom.

U stihu Starog Zavjeta jednakom stihu Rimljanima 8:28, Josip je rekao svojoj braći (koji su ga prodali u ropstvo): „Vi ste mi htjeli nanijeti zlo, ali ga Bog okrenu na dobro, da se danas ovako završi, da se veliki narod održi u životu” (Postanak 50:20).

„Bog okrenu na dobro” ukazuje na to da Bog nije samo izvukao najbolje iz loše situacije; naprotiv, potpuno svjestan šta će Josipova braća učiniti i slobodno dopuštajući njihov grijeh,
Bog je namjeravao da se loša situacija iskoristi za dobro. Učinio je to u skladu sa svojim planom promisli. Božja djeca su „predodređena po naumu Onoga Koji sve čini prema nakani Svoje volje” (Efežanima 1:11).

Ništa u vezi s Božjim djelom u Josipovom životu ne sugerira da on djeluje drugačije u životima svoje druge djece. U stvari, stihovi Rimljanima 8:28 i Efežanima 1:11 naglašavaju da On na isti način djeluje i s nama.

Vjerujete li u obećanje iz stiha Rimljanima 8:28? Identificirajte najgore stvari koje su vam se dogodile, a zatim se zapitajte da li vjerujete da će Bog te stvari iskoristiti za vaše dobro. Biblija tvrdi da hoće.

Dar našeg povjerenja

Ako glupo pretpostavljamo da naš Otac nema pravo na naše povjerenje osim ako svoju beskonačnu mudrost ne učini potpuno razumljivom, stvaramo nemoguću situaciju — ne zbog njegovih ograničenja, već zbog naših (pročitajte Izaija 55:8-9).

Povremeno, kao što je Josip na kraju iskusio, Bog nam daje naznake svog opravdanja. Prije nekog vremena, moj prijatelj je doživio ozbiljnu nesreću i mukotrpan oporavak. Ali život mu je spašen. Medicinski testovi su otkrili nepovezano stanje koje je zahtijevalo hitnu intervenciju.

U tom slučaju, uvjerljiv razlog nesreće postao je jasan. U drugim slučajevima, ne znamo razloge. Ali s obzirom na sve što ne znamo, zašto pretpostavljamo da naše neznanje o razlozima znači da ih nema? Samo je Bog u poziciji da odredi šta je besmisleno, a šta nije. (Nije li mučna Isusova smrt u to vrijeme izgledala i nepotrebna i besmislena?)

Prednost u vječnoj radosti

Da je Josip imao mogućnost dok se suočavao sa svojim iskušenjima, uvjeren sam da bi sišao s pozornice Božje priče. Usred priče o Jobu — sa desetero mrtve djece, tijelom prekrivenim čirevima, očigledno napuštenim od Boga — pitajte ga želi li izlaz. Znam njegov odgovor jer je u stihu Job 3:11 rekao: „O, zašto nisam umro pri rođenju?”

Ali tome je sada kraj. Na nadolazećoj novoj Zemlji, sjedite pored Joba, Josipa i Isusa na raskošnoj gozbi. Pitajte ih: „Je li zaista vrijedilo?”

„Apsolutno”, kaže Job. Josip značajno klima glavom. Nema potrebe pitati se kako će Isus reagirati.

Jednog dana, i mi ćemo vidjeti u njihovom širem kontekstu, iz vječne perspektive, Božje stroge milosti, od kojih neke nikada nismo razumjeli, a druge smo zamjerili. Pitat ćemo se zašto smo se molili da budemo više poput Isusa, a onda molili Boga da ukloni ono što je poslao da usliši te molitve.

„Zato ne malaksavamo... Zaista, naša sadašnja malena teškoća donosi nam izvanrednu vječnu slast slave,jer mi ne tražimo vidljivo, nego nevidljivo.Vidljivo je prolazno, ali ono nevidljivo je vječno” (2. Korinćanima 4:16-18).

Vjera je vjerovanje danas u ono što ćemo jednog dana, gledajući unatrag, vidjeti da je oduvijek bilo istina.

Nemojmo čekati pet minuta nakon što umremo da bismo vjerovali da Bog uvijek ima pravo. Naučimo to činiti ovdje i sada, s pogledom uprtim u našeg milostivog, suverenog i uvijek svrhovitog Otkupitelja.

Trusting God When the Pain Seems Pointless

I’ve written nine novels. Suppose you could interview characters from my books. If you asked them, “Would you like to suffer less?” I’m sure they’d answer, “Yes!”

I empathize with my characters. But as the author, I know that in the end all their suffering will be worth it, since it’s critical to their growth, and to the redemptive story.

God has written each of us into His story. We are part of something far greater than ourselves. God calls upon us to trust Him to weave that story together, so that, in the end that will never end, we will worship Him, slack-jawed at the sheer genius of His interwoven plot lines.

Pointless Pain?

But like my fictional characters, who are clueless to my strategies, we lack the perspective to see how parts of our lives fit into God’s overall plan. Cancer, disabilities, accidents, and other losses and sorrows appear devastatingly pointless. However, just because we don’t see any point in suffering doesn’t prove there is no point.

Joni Eareckson Tada is celebrating her fiftieth year in a wheelchair. Does celebrating seem the wrong word? It certainly would have to Joni as a 17-year-old desperately wanting to end her life. Yet looking back, we see her exponential character growth and the countless lives — my family’s included — God has touched through Joni. Scripture teaches us that in our sovereign God’s loving hands, no suffering we face is ever purposeless, no matter how it seems at the moment.

How many times does God have a purpose in events that seem senseless when they happen?

All Things for Our Eternal Good

Romans 8:28 is one of the most arresting statements in Scripture: “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” The context shows that in a groaning, heaving world, God’s concern is conforming His children to Christ’s image. And He works through the challenging circumstances of our lives to develop our Christlikeness.

In the Romans 8:28 of the Old Testament, Joseph said to his brothers (who’d sold him into slavery), “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20).

“God meant it for good” indicates God didn’t merely make the best of a bad situation; rather, fully aware of what Joseph’s brothers would do, and freely permitting their sin, God intended that the bad situation be used for good. He did so in accordance with His plan from eternity past. God’s children have “been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).

Nothing about God’s work in Joseph’s life suggests He works any differently in the lives of His other children. In fact, Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 1:11 are emphatic that He works the same way with us.

Do you believe the promise of Romans 8:28? Identify the worst things that have happened to you, and then ask yourself if you trust God to use those things for your good. The Bible asserts that He will.

The Gift of Our Trust

If we foolishly assume that our Father has no right to our trust unless He makes His infinite wisdom completely understandable, we create an impossible situation — not because of His limitations, because of ours (see Isaiah 55:8–9).

Occasionally, like Joseph eventually experienced, God gives us glimpses of His rationale. Some time ago, a friend of mine endured a serious accident and a painful recovery. But it saved his life. Medical tests revealed an unrelated condition that needed immediate attention.

In that case, a compelling reason for the accident became clear. In other cases, we don’t know the reasons. But given all that we don’t know, why do we assume our ignorance of the reasons means there are no reasons? Only God is in the position to determine what is and isn’t pointless. (Didn’t the excruciating death of Jesus appear both gratuitous and pointless at the time?)

A Head Start on Eternal Joy

Given the option while facing his trials, I’m confident Joseph would have walked off the stage of God’s story. In the middle of Job’s story — with ten children dead, his body covered in boils, apparently abandoned by God — ask him if he wants out. I know his answer because in Job 3:11 he said, “Why did I not perish at birth?”

But that’s all over now. On the coming New Earth, sit by Job and Joseph and Jesus at a lavish banquet. Ask them, “Was it really worth it?”

“Absolutely,” Job says. Joseph nods emphatically. No need to wonder how Jesus will respond.

One day, we too will see in their larger context, with an eternal perspective, God’s severe mercies, some of which we never understood, and others we resented. We’ll wonder why we prayed to be more like Jesus but then begged God to remove what He sent to answer those prayers.

“Therefore we do not give up. . . . For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18, CSB).

Faith is believing today what one day, in retrospect, we will see to have been true all along.

Let’s not wait until five minutes after we die to trust that God always has a point. Let’s learn to do it here and now, eyes locked on our gracious, sovereign, and ever-purposeful Redeemer.