Trusting the Father in Our Suffering
God is all-powerful: he can change any circumstance. If he is not changing something at the moment, there is only one reason why he is not: he loves us too much to change our circumstance. What kind of a father is that, you may wonder? Our heart may protest, he cannot be both all-powerful and all-loving if he will not change the situation or person causing me or my child so much pain. Erroneously we lament that, even though God weeps with us, he is not powerful enough to change our circumstances. Or he can change our situation but chooses not to because he really does not love us.
Neither explanation describes our heavenly Father, who is both all-loving and all-powerful. The witness of our faith proclaims that he holds these two realities in tension, rooted in his fatherly care for us. God alone knows all things. In his divine providence he wills only our good from a heart of love deeper than we can know or understand. And he is powerful enough to change our circumstance but will only do so for our greater good. This is the Father's love, which sent his only Son to an agonizing death on the cross so that we might be restored to him. God is at work for our good in the midst of the depths of suffering we are enduring.
His Spirit leads us on our journey through suffering to hope. Some of the sting is removed when we thank God in the midst of suffering. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:16-18). You may not know the outcome of your suffering. But you can know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). Even when others intend evil, God is still in control. As the patriarch Joseph said to his brothers during their reunion, years after they sold him into slavery, As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good (Gn 50:20)
By Kimberly Hahn
Magnificat July 8, 2022 Vol. 24 No. 5, Page 109-110