Everything Happens for a Reason

Everything Happens for a Reason

Romans 8:18-28

            “Everything happens for a reason.  Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can come together.”

            So said that eminent philosopher, Marilyn Monroe.  Yes, I know, we don’t usually think of her as having had thoughts this deep.  Part of that is because of the image Hollywood created for her.  Part of it is our natural prejudice.  We believe anyone that glamorous can’t be smart as well.  How wrong we can be!

            We might also have a difficult time believing she said this because we know things didn’t turn out so well for her.  Despite her glamor (or perhaps because of it) her life story is not a happy one.  Still, the quote is attributed to Marilyn Monroe, so we have to accept that at some time, in some set of circumstances, she did say it.

            Many people say, “Everything happens for a reason.”  It’s a way of finding meaning in difficult situations.  When it seems things aren’t going right for us, someone will try to cheer us up by telling us there must be a reason for the tough times we’re going through.  Trouble is, when we’re in the midst of those tough times, it’s hard to see anything good about it.  Someone saying there must be a reason doesn’t usually make us feel much better.

            Paul was trying to help the Christians in Rome see that the suffering they were forced to endure might mean that God was working in and through their difficult circumstances.  In Romans 8:18, we hear Paul saying, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  Whatever happens to us in times of trial will be surpassed by what God has in store for us in the future. 

Paul places the Roman believers’ troubles in perspective.  He says that all creation is waiting for God’s future, and not waiting patiently, but groaning as if in terrible pain.  Our suffering is merely a part of the universal suffering that will continue until Christ’s return. 

Even our prayer life can suffer as a result of this creation-wide trial.  Paul spends several verses assuring his readers that the Spirit understands the trouble we often have communicating in prayer, and intercedes for us before God’s throne.

Let’s go back to the second part of Ms. Monroe’s quote.  Remember?  She says, “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can come together.”

Is this reassuring?  Does it help us to know that when our lives—or a significant part of them—crash and burn it may be clearing the way for something better?  Can we be sure that whatever lies ahead will be an improvement?  Don’t we know people who lost their jobs, their home—practically everything in the last recession—and haven’t yet seen the light at the end of the tunnel?  Isn’t this just a rosy-colored lens we look through to convince ourselves that something better must lie ahead.

Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  We know there are people who hit a major bump in life and never overcome it.  Whether it’s an economic downturn, an incurable disease, or the loss of a loved one, there are situations that look hopeless.  How do we see God’s hand here?  Can we see God’s hand here?

We must remember above all else that we serve a God who goes through the troubled times with us.  God is there, even in the worst situations we can imagine, right beside us, sharing them with us and giving us the strength to pull through.