I didn’t say Christians don’t have pain in their lives, just that there are no tragedies. A tragedy is pain without meaning or purpose. For the Christian, every time we experience pain, there is a purpose. There IS an answer to the “Why?” question. Consider Romans 8:29…
For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…
God sends/allows pain into the Christian’s life to conform them into the image of Christ! Pain, hardship, and difficulty are God’s chosen means to make believers more like Jesus.
Jesus didn’t suffer so that we wouldn’t suffer, but so that when we suffer we would be like Him…
God is capable of keeping us from suffering. He is powerful enough to prevent us from ever having pain enter our life. But God is loving enough to do what is best for us whether we like it or not. That is the reason it is written in Romans 8:28, “God CAUSES all things to work together for the good of those called according to His purpose.”
God is so powerful that He takes (Uses? Causes?) what people intend for evil to bring about His will. This is most clearly seen in what Joseph said to his brothers. You remember the story… Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, where he was falsely accused of rape, thrown into prison and forgotten for years, before he eventually was elevated to vice-Pharaoh.
When His brothers realized Joseph was their brother, they were afraid for their lives. Joseph responded in Genesis 50:20, “You meant it for evil, God meant it for good.”
The evil people inflict upon us is God’s way of conforming us to the imgae of Christ AND bringing about His will. They are still responsible for their evil and they will pay for it, but God uses it in beliver’s lives to conform them to His Son AND bring about his purpose. Therefore…
No one can mess up your life to the point that God cannot use you for His glory!
Therefore, how can I call something a tragedy (pain without purpose) that God is using to conform me to the image of His Son AND bring about His will? The answer is I can’t. Therefore I can “Rejoice in the Lord always!” I can “Count it all joy when I encounter various trials!”
Beleive God!