a good process

I was thinking about that verse in the Bible - Hebrews 12:11:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

In the context, it's talking about how we should see the hardship we go through as discipline from God. He's our parent and he disciplines us for our good. This is where I don't really understand the Christian teachers (who otherwise I think are very sound, good teachers) who want to say that none of the bad stuff that happens comes from God....they're like, no, the bad things come from the world, and God is in you helping you deal with the bad things. And, with Romans 8:28:

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.

which is basically read to mean that, even when things happen that we don't like, God works it out for our good. The teachers who want to say that no challenging thing comes from God want to say that the bad stuff happens in our lives because of evil or sin (ours or other people's) or the harmful, stupid things some people do, but then God works it out so that it turns out for our good. 

To me, that teaching is kind of unsatisfying, because it's as if there is some sense in which the bad stuff wins, at least temporarily.....like things go wrong/ things go awry and a bit out of control because someone does something thoughtless, stupid or just plain bad, but then afterwards God brings about something good. I'm not really satisfied with that model and it doesn't match my experience. 

That way of thinking is true, in a way, especially from our point of view, and even the verse I quoted - 'No discipline seems pleasant at the time.....' - speaks to that reality. Now, you experience pain, and later that will yield a harvest of peace and righteousness. but the idea that - now it's bad, later it will be good is an oversimplification. The verse says, 'No discipline seems pleasant at the time....', so it's talking about how we perceive challenges. We feel pain but that pain is evidence of a process by which God is working in us and shaping us, and that process is a good thing from start to finish.