I hate that phrase. It’ll be ok. It’ll all work out if you just have faith. Are you serious? I have to be honest, Christians say some really dumb and insensitive things!

One thing I wish people would learn is that if you don’t really know what to say, then it’s very much ok to keep the mouth closed! The worst is when people take things out of context. Grab that favorite bible verse and spit it back at someone who’s struggling or you think needs to hear just this little tidbit. If you’re going to do that make sure you have the whole story please!

This week we talked about one of those often out of context verses. It’s from Romans 8:28 and goes like this. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

I know what that verse sounds like. And to be honest I’ve heard people take that verse and use it in situations where it just does not apply! Times like when someone is really hitting a wall with depression or loss. When someone is struggling with the weight of illness or relationship pains is not the time to throw that verse out! So if that’s not what it’s about, then what is it?

One thing we need to do before we speak is to make sure we know the context. What did Paul mean in these words? To whom was he speaking? What comes right before this? What comes right after it? These are just a few questions that help us make sure we’re appropriately applying a given verse.

In this particular case, Romans 8:28 isn’t about just sucking it up and trusting that the cancer will go away or that the divorce was for the better or whatever scenario we come up with. It’s about looking at the struggles in our lives through a different set of lenses.

Our struggles in life, yeah even the really crappy ones that no one wants to relive at all, are there because in the midst of them God is up to something. Not that we should grin and bear it. But that God is doing a hard thing in us to help us better reflect him to the world around us.

The point of our struggles isn’t that we have a lesson to learn or we’re being punished for a particular wrong doing. The struggles we face often are there to help us live out the purpose for which we were created. And that purpose is to reflect the image of Jesus everywhere we go.

This is the point of discipleship. If you’ve been with us here for any length of time, then you likely have heard me say that discipleship is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others. This is exactly what our struggles and pains are all about. Forming and often reforming that image of Christ in us.

Look – your struggles are going to flat suck some days. You’re not going to want to get out of bed they’re going to be so rough. You’re going to want to throw in the towel some days. You might even collapse on the floor in your bathroom unable to keep food down, laying in a puddle of your own tears not knowing how you’ll ever face tomorrow. But that struggle, as horrible as it is, is part of something way bigger than that moment.

Paul reminds us earlier in the chapter that when we compare our struggles to our good days, we won’t be able to handle it. But when we compare our hardships to the amazing grace and goodness of God that awaits us in heaven, then these struggles will eventually pass. When we keep our eyes stayed on the true and perfect cross of Jesus, then we begin to see past our struggles and find the glory of God that will one day be our reality.

So will it be ok? I really don’t know. It’s going to hurt. I can’t take away the pain. No one can. But I can help you see past the pain to the one who will be there long after the pain is gone. That’s even more powerful than knowing it’ll be ok.