God Works Through All Things

Challenge the popular but unbiblical phrase "everything happens for a reason" in this vital episode about God's sovereignty and suffering. Based on Romans 8:28, we learn that God works all things together for good—not that He causes all things or that all things are good. Continuing to untangle from expectations, today we address the harmful expectation that suffering should make sense and that God orchestrates our pain for some hidden purpose.

The Problem With "Everything Happens for a Reason": First, it makes God the author of evil. If everything happens for a reason and God is sovereign, then God caused your cancer, abuse, loss, tragedy. That's not the God of Scripture—God doesn't cause evil, He hates it and is working to defeat it. Second, it minimizes real suffering by essentially saying "This isn't as bad as you think. There's a silver lining." But sometimes there is no bright side—sometimes suffering is just suffering, and it's okay to call it what it is. Third, it puts pressure on you to find the lesson. If everything happens for a reason, you're supposed to figure out what that reason is, learn something, grow from it. And if you can't? Then you feel like you're failing at suffering.

The Biblical Truth: Bad things happen. Evil is real. We live in a broken world where sin, suffering, and death are present realities. God doesn't cause those things, but He doesn't waste them either. Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good—not that all things are good or happen for a reason, but that God can take anything—even evil, even tragedy, even the worst thing you've experienced—and work it for good. He doesn't cause the evil, but He redeems it, transforms it, brings beauty out of ashes.

The Cross: The Ultimate Example: There was nothing good about Jesus hanging on a Roman cross. It was evil, unjust, the worst thing humanity has ever done—taking the sinless Son of God and executing Him like a criminal. God didn't cause that. Humanity caused that. Sin caused that. Evil caused that. But God took the most heinous evil in the history of the world and turned it into something good. He defeated sin at the cross, conquered death at the resurrection, brought salvation to the world through the very act meant to destroy His Son. That's not "everything happens for a reason"—that's "God works all things together for good." The cross wasn't good, but God worked through it to accomplish good.

Your Untangle Moment: Identify one painful situation where you've been expecting it to "make sense," then practice untangling by releasing the need for it to have been "meant to be" and trusting God to work it for good. Name a specific disappointment, tragedy, or painful circumstance. Write down the false comfort you've been telling yourself: "Everything happens for a reason" or "God caused this for some purpose." Cross it out and replace it with biblical truth: "This was hard/evil/painful. God didn't cause it. But God can work through it for good." Pray: "God, I don't need this to make sense. I don't need to understand why it happened. But I trust You to take what was meant for harm and work it for good, just like You did at the cross." When tempted to explain away pain with "everything happens for a reason," say instead: "This was hard, but God can work it for good."

Perfect for anyone struggling with suffering, seeking to understand God's role in tragedy, or learning the difference between God causing evil and God redeeming it.

Scripture Focus: Romans 8:28 Series: Untangle Week Theme: Untangle from Expectations