Why Are Some Christians Surprised When They Suffer? - Part 3

Here is his third reason:

Some of us thoroughly misunderstand a number of important texts. For instance, Romans 8:28 reads: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” If we interpret, “the good of those who love him” in selfish, materialistic ways, we shall entirely miss the point of the passage. In the context, it is the bad things of the world that are befalling God’s people, part of the groaning over the entire universe still given over to death and decay, and climaxing in the persecution of God’s people. What the passage promises us, then, is that in the midst of such misery we may be assured that God is at work, “for the good of those who love him.” That sort of promise has to be taken on faith - faith that is strong because of the proof God has already given us in his love for us, the proof that is nothing less than the gift of his Son. There is nothing in the text that promises us an easy time, or a quick way out of the groanings to which the entire universe gives vent.

- D.A. Carson, How Long O Lord?, p. 26