Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

– Romans 8:26-28 (ESV) [Emphasis mine]

I’ve had a bit of a no-fun week, but my mini-trib has been a pin-prick compared to what some of my friends are going through. My problems generally reside in my mind, and my circumstances rarely fall below “uncomfortable”, but I’ve got friends going through real, live tribulation and trouble right now.

In thinking about this I am drawn to Romans 8:28. “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 can see some of you rolling your eyes now. Romans 8:28 has, for some, come to be considered a verse that is not to be quoted (let alone blogged about) when people are in tribulation. It all seems too easy, to “pat”. I myself can recall times when someone tossed Romans 8:28 my way during a down time and I found it irritating.

I’m learning, however, that the problem then was me, not Romans 8:28 or its surrounding context.

Look at that verse. Too trite? Too simple? Look again. Think of the one who wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Was Paul sitting on a stage in a three piece suit with coiffed hair and manicured fingernails? I think not. Paul was one tough hombre, and my expectation is that he was uglier than a stump to boot. He carried the scars of his devotion to Christ in his tough, weather-beaten hide. And he wrote 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.”

Paul and those he ran with woke up most mornings knowing that there was a distinct chance of intense physical pain in their near future. They lived in a world that was, compared to what most of us know, barbaric and cruel. Stonings, beatings, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, prison. Welcome to the life of an evangelist for Christ in the first century AD. It was a world without safety nets. Sick and in pain? Hopefully you’ll recover, but don’t expect a warm bed, orange juice, or any pain meds. Broken leg? Hope it doesn’t get infected and kill you. No money? Lotsa luck. Don’t believe Caesar is god because you worship Jesus? Off with your head.

I’m beginning to understand. Romans 8:28 is a magnificent promise, one almost too good to believe, and that’s its problem. Actually, it’s our problem; our unbelief. Romans 8:28 towers over the desert of our tribulation, a solid rock to stand on, a spring of water unlooked for to one dying of thirst. It’s for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. There is a plan. What we’re going through is part of it. And the ending of all this will be the working together and miraculous harmony of a myriad of circumstances, and it will be good. If that seems impossible, it’s only because we can’t fathom or muster faith in the organizational and creative abilities of the Master of all circumstances, Almighty God.

In my life I’ve experienced little pinpricks of tribulation. Generally things work out. I’ve got it very, very easy. I haven’t had to have much faith in God’s great promise of Romans 8:28. Someday I know I will need that faith. I hope that I will not falter.

I hope I will remember the words of our Lord Jesus that He spoke to encourage eleven men who were about to embark on the most exhilarating, dangerous, revolutionary, and deadly adventure of their lives: