When the Good Still Suffer: Trusting God Through Grief

By Alvin Barnes Jackson Mississippi

God does not always spare the good from grief. That’s a hard truth to swallow, especially when we’ve been taught to believe that goodness should protect us from pain. But if you’ve walked this life long enough, you know that grief doesn’t discriminate.

The faithful still bury their loved ones. The righteous still lose jobs, battle sickness, face betrayal, and cry themselves to sleep. God doesn’t always spare the good from grief. But he does stay with us in it.

That’s what I’ve come to hold onto when life shakes me. I used to think that doing the right thing would shield me from suffering. I thought if I prayed hard enough, served faithfully enough, and loved deeply enough, I’d avoid the storms. But the truth is, storms still come even to the most faithful hearts. Grief is not a punishment. It’s part of the human experience.  And more importantly, it’s part of the spiritual journey. Because in grief, we meet God differently. Not as a distant idea, but as a close comforter.  In grief, our pride breaks, our masks fall off, and we finally sit still enough to let God work on the parts of us we’ve tried to hold together on our own. The pain doesn’t mean He’s abandoned us.  The tears don’t mean we’ve failed.  They mean we’re human. And God meets us right there. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (Catholic Standard Version) So if you’re grieving today, know this:  You’re not alone.  You’re not being punished.  You’re being held. And even though it hurts now, God is using that very grief to grow something in you that joy alone couldn’t produce: deeper compassion, stronger faith, and a heart that understands the pain of others. He may not always spare us from grief.  But he never wastes it either. He uses it to transform us.

Peace and love,

Alvin Barnes Jackson Mississippi

Alvin Barnes Jackson, Mississippi, a passionate former political leader, now leverages his skills as an accountant, paralegal, and project manager to empower small businesses and law firms.