We can know beyond all doubt that every aspect of our lives is in God’s hands. He has a plan for our life, and nothing can touch us unless it passes through His perfect and providential will. We have an anchor for the soul and a promise that shines like the North Star. Clouds can never enshroud it, and darkness can never extinguish it. We know that all things work together for good.
This Is a Divine Promise
Romans 8:28-29 is a divine promise. The order of words in the original Greek language is like this: “We know that for those who love God, He is working.” In other words, God himself is ceaselessly, energetically, and purposefully acting on my behalf. It is God himself who is transmuting all things for good for those who love Him.
Geneva was a cautious driver, but a car plowed into the right side of her vehicle. En route to the hospital, she asked God to show her why He allowed this to happen. She didn’t believe in accidents; so why had this happened?
Within three hours she knew. Doctors in the emergency room ordered X-rays and found a malignant tumor on her kidney, which was successfully removed. Had it not been for her accident, the cancer would not have been detected until too late. “God allowed that ‘accident,’” Geneva said, “for my good. It literally saved my life.”
God rules and overrules in the lives of His children, ordering all things for our good. It’s a divine promise.
This Is a Determined Promise
When we look at our lives a hundred years from now, from eternity’s perspective, all these little things that look to us like bends in the path and bumps in the road are going to make sense. We are playing with the pieces right now, and we don’t see how they fit together; but God has the whole picture in view, and He knows how they assemble into a unified whole that will present us beautifully conformed into the image of Christ Jesus.
This Is a Dynamic Promise
My favorite observation about Romans 8:28 is the interesting expression Paul used to describe how God is working on our behalf. Our English Bible says, “All things work together…” It’s the working together of all things to produce effects greater than and often completely different from the sum of the various elements.
Romans 8:28, however, is not a universal promise for all humanity. Though it is available for everyone, it doesn’t just automatically apply to everybody. This promise is reserved for those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. Does that include you?
God loves you and has a plan for your life. When things are dark and you can’t figure out what’s going on, just remember Who is in control. He hasn’t forgotten you. Just trust Him. This verse is designed to fill us with faith, with thanksgiving, and with tenacity.
An elderly minister kept a bookmark made of silk threads woven into a motto. The back of the bookmark was a tangled web of crossed threads that seemed to be without purpose. When he visited a home where there was great sorrow, he would frequently show this bookmark, presenting the unintelligible tangled side.
When the bereaved one had examined it intently, the minister would ask him to turn the bookmark over. Against the white silk background were the words to Romans 8:28.
Sometimes we see only the tangled threads down here; but someday when we get to heaven, the bookmark will be turned over, and we’ll see how God used all of those threads to weave a most beautiful pattern for our life. Our trials will become triumphs, and by faith we can claim them so now.
All things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose — that’s a sure promise in an uncertain world. The devil may intend to hurt us, and the world may mean it for evil; but God uses it for good, and we can fully trust Him with yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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