The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
PSALM 34:18
Have you ever found yourself, in the midst of unimaginable grief, pain, heartache or despair, wondering how you are going to make it through another day? And then a well meaning friend or family member comes along and drops the infamous Everything happens for a reason bomb.

You can’t possibly imagine a reason for what just happened.

But what I’ve found through years of searching, experiencing, and living is that often there is no reason for why tragedy has occurred. Sometimes bad things happen for no reason other than we are human beings having a human experience. Pain, heartache, grief, loss, disease and death are inevitable parts of the human experience.

Here’s what I’ve come to know about God’s will: God’s will is not the path we walk, but rather how we walk the path.

God’s will is not an event that happens to us; it’s how we respond to what happens.

God’s plan was never for pain to be part of the human experience. His plan was for us to live in peace and harmony with Him. The human experience became painful when sin entered the world. Our own free will wove threads of tragedy, loss, heartache and pain into the human experience.

God is not responsible for our pain. We are not responsible for our pain. What happened in the Garden of Eden is responsible for the human condition. And the human condition is hard wired for pain and suffering.

God is not causing us to hurt. He is hurting with us. What we do with our hurt is what matters. How we handle tragedy is what brings purpose into our pain