HUP 2 – November 4, 2025

Shelly was her name. Tim had explained she had had a tough life. She was sex trafficked when she was younger, and only by the grace of God were her parents prosecuted, found guilty and given long sentences. 

“You said something about common grace. You know what happened to me. How is that grace?” Shelly asked, head bowed, barely audible.

“Well, that’s a good question, and hard to answer… well, I take that back. It’s an answer that’s a hard saying.” Hup looked at Tim. He wondered if Tim wanted him to go there.

“You said it yourself, Hup. You wanted these Just Musing Sessions to be open… there’s no right or wrong… not if we respect each other and we’re sincere in what we’re asking and intellectually honest in how we look at things.” 

“I’d like to hear his answer.” A twenty-something male, pocked marked face, piped up.

“Okay. It’s a hard answer. In essence we could blame God for everything, and he’d accept it, but only because he either decreed it or allowed whatever happened to happen. God is sovereign. All is within his divine providence to mete out – affecting both good and evil.”

“My parents trafficked me. That’s God fault? I should blame him?” Shelly’s head came up, as well as the volume in her voice.

“Fault? No.”

“But you said… ” Shelly said, eyes narrowing in her quest for understanding.

“What I said is that God decreed things, ‘such as, Let there be light, or he permitted things, such as sending Judah and Israel into captivity. Nothing happens apart from him – consider how the Devil had to go before God in accusing Job. I’m not going to say it isn’t a mystery, but I can tell you from my own life, I’ve had things happen that God permitted. Earlier, I mentioned my wife. She took her life.”

A murmur spread across the room.

“God permitted it. Did I blame him? No.”

“Not at all?” Tim asked.

“No, but there’s a lot of backstory… oh, fifteen years of darkness that led up to her ingesting that pharmaceutical cocktail that sent her into coma. The thing is, do we believe what is said in Romans 8:28? That all things work together for good for those that love the Lord, and are called according to his purpose? Do you Shelly? It’s okay if you find that difficult to believe right now. It takes time to heal… rip off that still smoldering coat of flesh… and you’ll always have the scar tissue… that is, until we jump into our new, immortal bodies.”

“So, are you saying that you’re finding that all things are coming together for good Hup?” another man asked from across the room.

“Yes, and that’s the vantage point of old age. When you’re in the last act, that’s when the dénouement is revealed… things finally begin to make sense, and that’s why I wanted to tell you and the others who are coming up after me… Romans 8:28 is a promise kept. What’s tough is you’re still in the first or second act. 

Tim clapped his hand, once: “Let’s take a break.”