God Brings Us Through Suffering to Give Us His Best

In the spring of 1976, Vicky Olivas stood in front of a mirror preparing for a job interview that would change her life forever. Her husband had recently left her and their two-year-old son. With her heart shattered and her future uncertain, she needed work. She needed hope. She needed something solid to hold onto.

Instead, she stepped into a nightmare.

After struggling to find the address given to her by an employment agency, a stranger directed her down an alley to a warehouse office. Inside, the air felt damp and stale. Two men sat at a desk. Something in her spirit whispered that this wasn’t right. But she pressed on.

Moments later, that unease turned into terror. One of the men locked the door, attacked her, and when she resisted, shot her in the neck. She collapsed to the floor, blood pooling beneath her. In a frantic attempt to avoid being caught, he dumped her at a hospital and fled.

Vicky survived.

But survival came at a staggering cost. She was left a quadriplegic paralyzed from the neck down. The man responsible, despite previous convictions, served only three years in prison. Vicky faced a lifetime in a wheelchair.

From a human perspective, this story feels unbearably unjust. According to global data, nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Violence leaves scars far deeper than what the eye can see. And spinal cord injuries, like the one Vicky suffered, affect an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 people each year around the world. Behind each number is a name, a face, a family forever changed.

Yet Vicky’s story did not end in despair.

When Tragedy Awakens the Soul

Several years after the attack, Vicky encountered believers who gently introduced her to the Word of God. Though physically alive, she realized something far more sobering her soul was spiritually empty. The trauma had stripped her life down to its foundations. In that stripping away, she began to ask eternal questions.

Suffering has a way of doing that.

Scripture says in Romans 8:28 that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Those words can feel impossible when life collapses. What good could possibly come from paralysis? From betrayal? From violence?

But Romans 8 does not stop at comfort it defines good in eternal terms. Verse 29 reveals the deeper purpose: that we would be conformed to the image of Christ.

Vicky began to understand something profound. Had she not been paralyzed, she might never have searched for God so desperately. The very event meant to destroy her became the doorway to salvation. She discovered that her greatest healing was not physical it was spiritual.

Rethinking What “Good” Really Means

When we read promises like Psalm 84:11 “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” we often interpret “good” as comfort, success, health, and security. We assume obedience guarantees an easy road.

But God’s definition of good stretches beyond the boundaries of this life.

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:18 that what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. That shifts everything. Good is not primarily about restored mobility or financial stability. Good is about faith that cannot be shaken. It is about intimacy with Christ. It is about a soul anchored in eternity.

Modern research even reflects a glimpse of this biblical truth. Studies show that individuals who maintain active faith practices during hardship often report greater long-term emotional stability and meaning in life than those who do not. While faith does not remove pain, it reframes it.

God’s goodness may not always look like escape from suffering. Often, it looks like strength within it.

He gives courage when fear screams.
He gives endurance when weakness overwhelms.
He gives peace that surpasses understanding.

These are eternal gifts.

What Suffering Produces in the Believer

The Bible never minimizes suffering. It never pretends pain is pleasant. But it does reveal what God accomplishes through it.

• Suffering teaches dependence on God (2 Corinthians 1:9).

• It shapes godly character (Romans 5:3–4).

• It prepares an eternal reward beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).

• It reminds us how brief this life truly is (Psalm 90:12).

In a culture obsessed with comfort, this truth can feel uncomfortable. We naturally want relief, not refinement. We want rescue, not transformation.

Yet Jesus Himself walked the road of suffering. Isaiah 53 describes Him as a man acquainted with grief. Through the cross, the worst event in human history became the greatest act of redemption. If God could bring salvation out of crucifixion, can He not bring eternal good out of your present trial?

Vicky came to see her wheelchair differently. Not as a curse but as an instrument God used to draw her to Himself.

Is Conformity to Christ Worth the Cost

Some quietly wonder whether following Christ so fully is worth the hardship. Wouldn’t it be easier to settle for a comfortable faith? To seek heaven without too much surrender?

Paul answers that in 2 Corinthians 4:17 when he calls our affliction “light and momentary” compared to the eternal weight of glory. That phrase seems almost shocking when applied to paralysis or lifelong pain. Yet he speaks from a perspective anchored in eternity.

Eternity changes the math.

Consider this: if a person lives 80 years, that equals roughly 29,000 days. Compared to endless eternity, it is less than a blink. God’s promises stretch infinitely further than our present suffering.

Romans 8:32 reminds us that if God did not spare His own Son, He will graciously give us all things necessary for our ultimate joy in Him. The cross is proof that God is not stingy with His love. He has already done the hardest thing.

When Christ endured mockery, lashes, and crucifixion, He stood in our place. The justice we deserved fell upon Him. His righteousness became ours. That is the foundation of every promise.

Mercy and Justice in the End

Vicky often reflects on the mercy that saved her soul. She recognizes that the greatest tragedy would not have been paralysis it would have been eternity without Christ.

She once wrote that her wheelchair is a gift because it continually reminds her that earth cannot satisfy her deepest longing. Only Jesus can.

There is a profound mystery in that statement. How can something so painful become a gift? Only when we understand that God’s ultimate aim is not temporary comfort but eternal communion with Him.

Justice may seem delayed on earth. But Scripture assures us it will not be denied forever. Mercy is extended to all through Christ, yet each soul must respond.

Vicky’s attacker may have tasted fleeting pleasures after prison. But earthly pleasure without repentance is temporary. Meanwhile, Vicky’s suffering, endured in Christ, is preparing a glory that will never fade.

Her life testifies to a watching world. Believers are strengthened by her trust. Unbelievers are challenged by her joy.

When we view life through the lens of Romans 8:28, we begin to see that God does not waste pain. He weaves it. He redeems it. He transforms it.

Your Story Is Not Over

Perhaps you are walking through your own dark valley. Maybe it isn’t paralysis. Maybe it is betrayal, illness, financial collapse, or silent grief. You may be wondering how any of this could possibly fit into God’s good plan.

Hold onto this truth: God’s definition of good includes your eternal soul. His purposes reach beyond today’s tears. He is more committed to your Christlikeness than to your comfort.

The same God who brought salvation out of a cross can bring beauty out of your brokenness.

One day, every believer will stand face to face with Jesus. In that moment, suffering will shrink in comparison to His glory. What feels heavy now will seem light. What feels endless now will feel brief.

God sometimes allows what we would never choose in order to give what we could never earn deeper faith, purified love, unshakable hope, and everlasting joy in Him.

And in the end, we will see that He truly worked all things together for good.

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