One of the most abused verses in the Bible: 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who have been called according to his purpose.' I've heard this quoted at funerals like God engineered the death for good. But that misses what Paul actually says.
He says God works in all things—not that all things are God's will. God is working in the midst of tragedy, not causing it. He's redeeming what's broken, not orchestrating the breaking. When my sister had a stillbirth, someone quoted this verse like God needed a dead baby to teach us something. I wanted to punch them. That's not what Paul means.
The fuller promise is: even the things that aren't God's will—the tragedy, the loss, the injustice—God is still working. He's still extracting good. Not instantly. Not obviously. But in the long arc. My sister's loss has made her ministry to grieving families powerful. She brings real empathy because she's been broken. That doesn't mean the baby's death was good. But God is working good from it. That's the promise.
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