We are tempted to wonder why “bad things happen to good people” and why “good things happen to bad people,” but the gospel does not operate on the basis of merits and demerits for producing “deserved” circumstances in the lives of God’s people. Oftentimes evil and agony are permitted, such as in the crucifixion of Jesus, because God’s gracious and glorious and good purposes are served. He does not always give us a reason for the long and difficult road of suffering, but He will always give us His loving care and go with us so we do not travel it alone. God has a good reason for and a good result from the suffering in our lives. In the end, the suffering of this world is not worth comparing to the glory of the one to come.
