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There is a verse that I have shared with others many times in my life, and I have taken it to heart more times than I can count. Sometimes I fear that the sharing of this particular Scripture becomes cliché or untactful simply because of the prevalence of its use. However, Scripture never goes out of style, and its power is needed regularly, even day to day and moment by moment. This is a verse we must know, we must believe, and we must never forget. If we actually believe it, it can do wonders for our walk with the Lord. The Scripture I am referring to is Romans 8:28 which says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Those who love God are those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and have surrendered their lives to His direction. This verse speaks directly to those who are born again children of God, and these have a wonderful promise from God: God will cause all things to work for our good. Notice that things don’t work for our good of themselves or just because. It is a privilege and benefit of knowing Christ that God works on our behalf so that all things that come into our lives by His design are used by God for our good.

Now good doesn’t necessarily mean to make us rich, healthy, or famous. Sometimes, we might see God work things for financial gain, for health benefit, or for other external or material gain. However, the greatest good (and the emphasis in this passage) that God can do for us is to make us more and more like His Son Jesus Christ Whose likeness we are to bear. This is in accordance with His purpose and calling from before the foundation of the earth. Romans 8:29 continues by saying, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren." God’s big picture plan was for Christ to have other brothers and sisters, namely, believers. Christ is the firstborn, the only begotten Son of God. But we are His adopted brethren, and as such we are joint inheritors of heaven and the blessings of God (Romans 8:17). If that doesn’t make us happy, I don’t know what will. This is as good as it gets to know that we are family with God and can intimately know our Savior Jesus Christ. We have access to every spiritual blessing in heaven (Ephesians 1:3). We will live forever with God with no need for fear, no potential for sin, no pain, and no sorrow. There will be no death any longer. Eternal bliss with God is as good as it gets. And the beautiful application from this verse is that God is working all things for us now so that we can be more and more in line with what will be later. In other words, God knows that the deepest longings and desires of our heart are met in knowing Him and in enjoying Him forever. Thus, His purpose is to orchestrate all things in our lives so that we come to know Him better, love Him more, and reflect Jesus more accurately. As this becomes more of a reality in our lives, we will look forward to eternity more because we will be increasingly conformed to what will be when Jesus returns. God knows that being like Jesus is the best thing that could happen to us and the thing that is required for us to experience the greatest joy and happiness. Thus, in His great love, He takes all things, even disappointments, attacks of the devil, and our own failures as means that can be used for our good as He uses them to make us like Christ. Because of God’s sovereign hand in the lives of His children, mockery and insult are ultimately for our gain. What others do that is an offense to us is ultimately for our profit. The evil which befalls us is actually transformed by God into a blessing. It is not that the righteous don’t suffer or have travail in this life, but the promise is that God will use those things to bless us as He makes us more like Christ.

It is important to note that those who do not love God do not have the hope and promise that God is working behind the scenes to orchestrate all things for their good and sanctification. They don’t even know God, for they have rejected the truth. They are left to fend for themselves and to try to maximize their pleasure in this world. They have no inheritance and no hope of eternal life with God in heaven. Thus, it makes no sense to tell an unbeliever that things will work out or get better. They may or they may not. Luck is certainly not going to help them, so saying "good luck" does no real good either. Certainly, quoting Romans 8:28 to them wouldn’t matter because it doesn’t apply to them. I say this to point out the horror of life disconnected with God and the benefit and joy of knowing God. God loves His children, and all that happens to us is used by God for our good. No one can thwart His plan or purpose of making us like Christ. We might harden ourselves, but even this God can use for our good as we come to repent and trust once again. Even our own infallibilities and failures can be used for our good. It doesn’t even seem possible that through our failures God can make improvements and cause things to result in good, but that is exactly what He does.

So we have a wonderful promise that God is always at work in our lives, causing all things to work for our good. Next time we are blindsided by disappointment or difficulty, let us immediately call this verse to mind. When we are wronged, remember that even this can (excuse me, will) work out for our good. What a God we serve that even what is not good which we encounter He can make work for our good. Satan must be really discouraged by this verse, but I find it highly encouraging. I hope you do, too.

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Keep Your Dreams to Yourself