All, not some.

God can cause all things to work together for our good. I never understood that. In fact, I found it confusing. Does that mean God causes the bad things that happen to us? The answer to that is no. But when bad things happen to us, God has this amazing ability to make it all work together for our good. 

Romans 8:28 in the NASB 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.” The way I read that, it doesn’t mean that only good things will happen to us. Good and bad things will happen to all of us. It is a part of life. It is a part of the human experience and it is how life works on this side of heaven. We live in a fallen world where one moment everything could be going great and the next everything seems upside down and we do not understand it. 

The benefit we have as children of God is that when life feels upside down, we get to run to God. We get to find hope in Him. We find comfort in Him because we know that we are not alone. Not only that, but our verse today tells us that He will cause ALL things, not some things, not even most things but ALL things to work together for our good. 

This means individually the things that happen to us may seem terrible and may drain the life out of us. But, together, God is painting a picture. He may not have caused it but He will use it to work for your good. You may have been fired from that job but God will use that to help you realise that you can do better than that job and to aim for something better than what you are used to. He didn’t tell your boss to fire you, He is not mad at you, but He will work it out for you. He will make that bad thing work for your good. 

We all have different things that happen to us in life that we cannot explain. The point is not to lose hope and lose our faith in the midst of it but to encourage ourselves in the word of God. Psalm 103:2 says, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” When things are not going well, it is easy to forget the good things God has done and is doing for us. We can’t get short sighted. We need to keep our eyes open and remind ourselves of all the times the Lord came through for us. He is good. Same God who came through for us in the past, is the same God who will come through for us now. He is good. 

The New King James Version of that verse says not to forget His “benefits”. We have benefits, an advantage, security that comes from being lovers of God. It means He will move heaven and earth to make sure we are always taken care of. We have benefits, an in, special favour with the Creator of the heavens, the earth, the universe and everything in it. That God, He is our Father and He pays special attention to every single thing that happens in our lives. Even the things we do not see or notice, He sees it all. And He is working it all out for our good. 

Romans 8:28 in The Passion Translation says, “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good,for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” We have to be convinced that God is intricately acquainted with us and knows every detail of our lives and that He is continually (not occasionally or when He feels like it or when you are good but continually) weaving everything together for good. 

This is not to make light of pain and suffering, God does not look down on our pain and suffering or turn away from it or pretend it does not exist. In fact, He comes to meet us where we are and He wants to restore hope, faith, healing (emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually) to our lives. He wants to meet with us in our suffering so we don’t carry the burden but so He can carry it for us. He wants to share in your pain. So let Him in. As you do that, pray that He helps you see what He is doing for you in the midst of it all. Pray that He gives you fresh eyes to see just how good He is. When it is all over, pray that He shows you the good that has come of it. 

Our God is good and He is faithful. 

Love and blessings

Melissa Tsingano