I am beyond grateful that my firstborn is expected to fully recover from his incredibly close brush with death a month ago. And I absolutely love that my heart is full of joy and that all those I interact with who know my son are also overjoyed. Constantly, people are telling me that it is amazing, a miracle, God has great things in store for my son, and that God is at work. I agree.

But in the midst of all this jubilation, a thought keeps reoccurring: If my son’s last breath had been on the side of the mountain while ski patrol attempted to rescue him, can we be confident God is working then as well? Is God at work when the ending is tragic? Is God doing great things in stories overflowing with tears? Do miracles exist in the face of death? Can we be blown away in amazement at God no matter the story’s conclusion?

In a previous post, I told you that during the last three years I have become well acquainted with the stories of parents who have had to endure saying that unimaginable goodbye to their child. Again and again I witness through these heartbreaking situations that God is indeed at work then too. When I think of my husband’s business partner that suddenly lost his 21 year old firstborn, I saw this firsthand. As I shared in this post from that time period, God’s power to truly comfort and individually love His children in all circumstances was on display. The way God precisely orchestrated events in that funeral greeting line was a miracle.

Even within my own story, I have lost five tiny babies through miscarriage. In each loss I saw God’s hand clearly at work. Granted, after the third loss, my anger at God blinded me for a time. Thankfully, God graciously opened my spiritual eyes and helped me understand that even then He was most definitely at work.

Is God at work in my circumstances? Always.

God is always accomplishing great things in the lives of those who love Him. In the unwanted diagnosis. In the lost job. In the broken relationship. In the abandonment. In the rejection. In the loneliness. In the death of a child. God is always, always, always working for our good…no matter the story’s end scene (Romans 8:28).

Whatever you are facing today, I hope you will have complete confidence that God is most definitely at work. Our vision of this reality may be obscured at times, but I pray our faith in this reality will be as unwavering as Abraham’s faith recorded in Romans 4:20-21, “yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”

In Romans 8:28, God has promised to work all things – the good, the bad, and the ugly – for the good of those who love Him.

Perhaps the question we should be asking is not, “Is God at work in our circumstances?” but instead, “How strong is our faith that He is working in our circumstances?”