There are things in life I would never choose to go through again. Mistakes I wouldn't repeat. Pain I wouldn't volunteer for. Years I might use differently if I could have them back. There are also experiences that, at the time, seemed to have no value at all. They felt like setbacks, detours, failures, or simply wasted time. But the longer I live, the less convinced I am that anything surrendered to God has to remain wasted.
Romans 8:28 tells us: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” That verse is sometimes used too casually. When someone is grieving, betrayed, sick, disappointed, or trying to understand something devastating, telling them that “everything happens for a reason” can sound less like comfort and more like dismissal.
Romans 8:28 doesn't say everything that happens to us is good. It says God can work in all things for good. That's different. Some things are genuinely painful. Some things happen because of other people's choices. Some things happen because of our own choices. And some things happen simply because we live in a broken world. God doesn't have to call something good in order to bring good from it.
I've seen this in my own life. Experiences I once thought had little connection eventually became useful somewhere else. Lessons learned in one season showed up years later when I needed them in another. Difficult people taught me things about leadership. Failure taught me humility. Disappointment changed my expectations. Loss deepened my compassion. Even some of my wrong turns taught me things I probably wouldn't have learned on the road I intended to travel. I wouldn't necessarily choose those experiences again. But I can't say they were wasted.
