Highlight: God's purpose in pain

When Jessica Kelley’s son Henry was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of four, she tackled one of the most difficult questions of the Christian life: If God is all-powerful and loving, then why do we experience pain and suffering?

To gain a better understanding, Jessica challenged her viewpoint of God and His role in her child’s death. She wrestled with scriptures such as Romans 8:28,

“We’re accustomed to looking at Romans 8:28 through the New Living Translation version that says, ‘God causes everything to happen; He’s working it all out for good.’

She noticed that other translations of this same verse lean towards a warfare worldview, instead of a blueprint worldview.

 “In everything, God is working with us to bring about good.” Romans 8:28 (ESV)

Rather than accepting that God was causing her son pain and suffering, Jessica chose to believe that God was working in his pain to bring about a divine purpose. The warfare worldview better aligned with this truth and the sovereignty of God.

“I don’t believe that Henry suffered, and that Henry died at four years old because God planned for that to happen, but I believe that God meets that pain with purpose at every corner.”

Adopting the warfare worldview has allowed Jessica to experience God’s love in the midst of the grieving process.

“Rather than trying to accept that this is somehow meant to teach me a lesson, or that I’m supposed to somehow be better now that my child has died…Instead, I’m able to really call it evil; call it a tragedy, and to be able to then welcome those moments when I see good being brought to it as being from God.”

Jessica recalls one particular night where she found God’s purpose in the midst of her pain,

“I was having a really rough night and I remember, in prayer, with my husband just crying and pouring out my heart. In the morning, I had all of these messages through social media channels from people saying, ‘I’ve just encountered your story for the first time and boy is it bringing me closer to God,’ or ‘I just gave your book to someone who really needed it and you should have seen the look on her face.’

“What sustains me moving forward is that I can welcome those instances as being from the God that I recognize – a loving God who creatively meets me and brings purpose to this pain.”


Jessica Kelley is a writer, speaker, and author of . She has a B.S. in Psychology, a M.S. in Counseling & Human Development, and experience as a School Counselor.

Lord Willing?