Seeing God’s Hand in What Tried to Break You
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” - Romans 8:28
Some chapters of life leave a mark so deep that you wonder if anything good could ever come out of them. Pain changes your breathing. Disappointment alters your confidence. Wounds shape the way you see the world. It is natural to look back and only remember what hurt. Yet Scripture invites you to take another look, not to deny the pain, but to notice the quiet ways God may have been working even when everything felt like it was falling apart.
There are moments that seemed designed to break you. A relationship ended. A plan collapsed. A betrayal shook your trust. While you were living through it, none of it looked useful. It simply felt heavy. Later on, something begins to shift. You start recognizing that the struggle pushed you toward the strength you did not know you had. You see habits changing because the old ones could not survive what you walked through. You notice that your compassion deepened because you finally understood what hurting people feel.
Romans 8:28 is not about pretending everything that happened was good. It is about trusting that God has the ability to take what was meant for damage and shape it into something that develops you. In some seasons, the difficulty becomes the teacher. It sharpens your character. It exposes what needs to change. It opens your eyes to things you never paid attention to before. Growth rarely comes wrapped in comfort.
Looking back with God’s lens does not mean you rewrite the story. It means you recognize that He never left the scene. Some of the clarity you carry today came from nights you did not think you would make it through. Some of the resilience in your voice came from moments that once left you shaking. Nothing about that pain felt purposeful, but purpose grew anyway.
Take a moment today and think about one area of your life that is stronger than it used to be. Trace it back. You may discover that what tried to break you actually built you. Not because the situation was good, but because God is. And He has been working for your good long before you realized it.
Some chapters of life leave a mark so deep that you wonder if anything good could ever come out of them. Pain changes your breathing. Disappointment alters your confidence. Wounds shape the way you see the world. It is natural to look back and only remember what hurt. Yet Scripture invites you to take another look, not to deny the pain, but to notice the quiet ways God may have been working even when everything felt like it was falling apart.
There are moments that seemed designed to break you. A relationship ended. A plan collapsed. A betrayal shook your trust. While you were living through it, none of it looked useful. It simply felt heavy. Later on, something begins to shift. You start recognizing that the struggle pushed you toward the strength you did not know you had. You see habits changing because the old ones could not survive what you walked through. You notice that your compassion deepened because you finally understood what hurting people feel.
Romans 8:28 is not about pretending everything that happened was good. It is about trusting that God has the ability to take what was meant for damage and shape it into something that develops you. In some seasons, the difficulty becomes the teacher. It sharpens your character. It exposes what needs to change. It opens your eyes to things you never paid attention to before. Growth rarely comes wrapped in comfort.
Looking back with God’s lens does not mean you rewrite the story. It means you recognize that He never left the scene. Some of the clarity you carry today came from nights you did not think you would make it through. Some of the resilience in your voice came from moments that once left you shaking. Nothing about that pain felt purposeful, but purpose grew anyway.
Take a moment today and think about one area of your life that is stronger than it used to be. Trace it back. You may discover that what tried to break you actually built you. Not because the situation was good, but because God is. And He has been working for your good long before you realized it.
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