You look at this phrase and think, “Is she nuts?” All things good, how, where, and when will this be? Every day we hear of bad things happening all around us. Sickness, death, heartaches of a broken family, and sorrow seem to be an everyday occurrence. How can any good come from these situations? These are questions many Christians ask when they read Romans 8:28. This verse teaches us that, for the Christian, all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
To truly understand this verse, we must look at life through a telescope, not a microscope. When we step back and look at the big picture, we get a glimpse of a goal, a purpose, a pathway that leads straight to Jesus and spending eternity with Him. We need to rethink our definition of “good.” God’s idea of good is expressed in the very next verse. His desire is to conform us to the image of His son Jesus.
Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
While we may not understand how God can bring good out of horrible situations, these verses give us hope. This truth, and it is true because God cannot lie, will help us set our minds on Him while we wait to see how He will work on our behalf. Even when we are going through tough times, we can feel peace in our souls. The Holy Spirit dwells within and will teach us through our difficult times. We serve a God who is perfect in His wisdom, and in all His ways, therefore we must trust the process and the design that God has for our lives.
Joseph is a great example of truly believing that God was in total control. He saw God’s good purpose in all that happened to him. From Genesis chapter 37 to Genesis chapter 50 we see Joseph’s life riding the roller coaster of up and down. Yet, his attitude never changes. He is sold by His jealous brothers into slavery. He was a good slave and was elevated to a powerful position in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar’s wife desired to have Joseph come lay with her and commit adultery. She devised a plan where all the other help would be away from the house, but what happened next wasn’t what she expected. Joseph refused to lie with her, and when he proceeded to leave, she grabbed his coat, and he came out of his coat and left. When her husband returned, she lied about Joseph, and he was thrown into prison. If you think he doubted God’s plan for his life, guess again. He became a model prisoner, interpreting dreams and telling others about his great God, which allowed him to know the answers to their dreams. He interprets a dream for the Pharaoh and is soon promoted to a position second to that of the Pharaoh. Nowhere in scripture do we find Joseph complaining and angry at God for his situation. He maintained his faith and his trust that God would work for his good.
God works for our good also. We may not understand how He is working when things are happening that are bad, but we must trust what He has told us in His word. We must trust in God’s purpose for our lives and that includes the situations that are ugly and painful. Look to God and trust. He sees the big picture. He knows your present, your past, and your future. We can always count on the end being good because of our all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God.
In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus is teaching his followers about prayer and how God answers. He makes a comparison with our earthly father and how we are not inherently good, but God is good and is always good. He loves us and will do what is best for us.
Matthew 7:9-11 “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
The next time you’re in a difficult spot, or going through a painful time in your life, hang on, and remember, God loves you and will work things for your good. He is a good God in every way and desires that we become like His Son. He is good in the good times and He is good in the bad times. God is always good.
Psalm 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
