Roasted When You Order
Get 10% off and FREE shipping on your first coffee subscription order.
Use code “BREW” at checkout.
Shop Now
Get 10% off and FREE shipping on your first coffee subscription order.
0
Photo: ©congerdesign from pixabay via Canva.com
You may want to read:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Perhaps you have been in a place of despairing of life. Many have. Sometimes, you can become so focused on the pain that the removal of the pain is the only thing that matters, even if death seems to be a viable option. I’m not advocating this approach to problem-solving, but I know that in our fallen states, it can cross our minds. It was during this season that I received counsel, some good and some not so helpful. Regardless of the quality of their advice, all of them wanted to help me because they cared for my soul. All of my friends were acting out of love, and one of the more challenging pieces of advice that they brought to me during my time of suffering was what Paul said in Romans 8:28.
“Hey, brother Rick, all things work together for good.” It is a good verse, and I would not want to communicate otherwise, but it’s a hard text to receive when things are going badly. I intuitively knew that I was going to have to have a change of mind if I was going to enjoy the full benefit of Romans 8:28. It’s kind of like John 3:16. You’re not going to benefit from it if you resist what God wants to do in your life. I remember how frustratingly difficult John’s words were before God regenerated me. The Lord was not going to budge from His Word, and I was afraid to embrace the truth found in this beautiful verse about our great salvation. Mercifully, God gave me the grace to hear, interact, and respond to John 3:16, and I have been benefiting from it ever since. Then, shortly after salvation, Romans 8:28 came into my life, and it was another battle in my soul.
I knew that Paul’s words to the Romans were not going to accommodate my fears or change to suit my preferences. I had to decide if I was going to budge from my fears. Would I resist this verse or repent of my fear and permit God to adapt this verse to my trouble? I wanted my will. God was saying, “No, your will is not the main thing here.” To accommodate Romans 8:28 into my life meant I was going to have to give up or change some of my expectations and perceived rights. Though I knew God was calling me to a different kind of life through this text in Romans, I did not want to do what was necessary to live in the goodness of what Paul was teaching.
It’s like when the alarm goes off in the morning. I know what I need to do, but the doing of it is a different matter. Will I kick the can down the road by hitting the snooze button or respond with what I know I need to do? During my season in the crucible of suffering, a friend came to me and said, “Hey brother, the Bible says that all things work together for good.” I wanted to kick his can down the road, but I knew in my heart of hearts that he was right. I also knew that he loved me and wanted to help me move forward in my relationship with God. The sad thing for me was that the rightness of his counsel and the stinging reality of the text were not the issue. The conflict was that I did not want the good that he was sharing with me. Because of where I was at the time, I responded to him in a way that I regret today: “Hey friend, has it ever occurred to you that I might not want things to work together for good?”
The bottom line was that I wanted my life back. It did not matter if my desires were for my good or not. I wanted out of my hurt. I did not want to live in or experience what I was going through at that time. Sometimes, pain can become so deep and profound that it does not matter if what God has is good, better, or best. At the moment, you want things put back the way they have always been. This struggle makes Romans 8:28 one of those frustrating texts that every believer must engage. It is also imperative that this verse is interpreted correctly so that the sufferer can understand it, own it, and witness God change us by it. The misfortune of this text is that it has not only been frustrating and misinterpreted, but many folks have misapplied it. Sometimes, individuals use it as a simplistic discipleship approach. It is anything but that.
During the season of your most profound hurt, you need to know not only what this verse means but also how to navigate through the challenge that confronts you during your struggle, which brings us to the heart of the matter. The real issue in this verse is around what the word good means. There is no doubt that all things work together for the good of the Christian. We know that things are going to turn out good because God is good. Can the life of the Christian turn out any other way? I believe not. The better question to ask is, “What does ‘good’ mean?” What did Paul think when he said, “All things work together for good?” How would Paul want us to interpret and apply the word good to our lives? How can good come out of evil? Most certainly, the good that Paul was talking about does not necessarily mean I will live an uninterrupted, healthy, wealthy, and peaceful life. We all know better than this.
Christians embrace a “Thorns & Thistles Theology” (Genesis 3:18). The Lord made a promise to Adam that difficulties and trials come with our Adamic packaging. As men and women of Adam, our lot in life consists of troubles, difficulties, and complexities. “But man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Of course, we don’t want to push our thorns and thistles narrative too far. We must not embrace a prosperity gospel worldview; when the trouble inevitably comes, God is not about to turn my tragedy or disappointment into a preferred outcome. This worldview is a human-centered interpretation of the text. Suffering is mysterious, and knowing the full mind of God regarding His purposes for why bad things happen is not assured. Let me illustrate.
Mable was in an automobile accident; she totaled her car. Through the ordeal, she received an incredible insurance claim that allowed her to buy a car that was far better than her previous aging vehicle. No doubt, God was working these things into her life, and she received a brand new vehicle. However, it can be misleading to bring a narrow understanding of Romans 8:28 to bear on this situation. For some, it might imply that God is our Divine Dreamweaver and that He is working hard to bring us many good amenities and outcomes in life, like a brand-new car. This illustration is not the good that Paul had in view. It also does not take into account the other person in the accident, who was at fault. Furthermore, it does not take into account the insurance company, rising premiums, and other collateral issues that others would not perceive as good according to this interpretation of the text.
The point of the text has little to do with whether your life and circumstances unfold to your liking. Giving you the life you’ve always wanted or your preferred best life now is not at the top of God’s to-do list. Those who have not suffered much or live in a part of the world where things have gone relatively easy for them can lull themselves into a spoiled slumber where all their wishes come true and every ending is satisfying. Perhaps rolling through a short list of some of our brothers and sisters who did not get what our world would call their best life now would be recalibrating and instructive. As you scroll through this list, you can most assuredly say that God was working in their lives for good, which implies purposes that consider both our present situations and His future objectives that we may or may not perceive at this time.
We must acknowledge that our idea of good and God’s idea of good might not align, which will permit us to reorient our lives accordingly. We want to interpret Romans 8:28’s good through a gospel filter. During my season of despair, I knew that my good and His good were colliding in my heart. That is why I said, “Hey, friend, has it ever occurred to you that I might not want things to work together for good?” Though I did not precisely know what good God was trying to work out in my life, I did not care. This dilemma does raise a question. What is the good that God is trying to work out in our lives? Here’s the short answer: the good that God is working in us is to make us more like His Son—Jesus Christ. He wants us to be Christlike. Isn’t that the essence of the Christian journey? Isn’t that the reason He saved us, to make us like Christ? If my circumstances are not transforming me into the person of Jesus Christ, I’m missing the crucial point of what God is doing in my life.
The purpose of the Bible is transformation. It is not about your preferred life, learning the best habits, or controlling all outcomes to create soft landings for our families or ourselves. The point of the Bible is transformation into the image of His Son. If I gain personal property, acclaim, or significant monetary worth, praise God. But I better make sure that I do more than praise God. I must run these earthly advantages through the filter of Romans 8:28 and pray to God that terrestrial prosperity becomes a means of grace to conform me to the image of His Son. In one sense, this worldview releases a person from the temptation to think that hardship has come to them because God is angry with them. Our difficulty and God’s anger toward us are not compatible. This kind of thinking flies in the face of God’s goodness. The wrath of God may abide upon the non-Christian, but not on the Christian (John 3:36). We see God’s love for us in the rest of the text.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Romans 8:29-30).
God is for you (Romans 8:31). To think otherwise negates the power that you should find in this verse. If you are a Christian, God is not angry with you but seeking to make you look like Jesus. God is working good into our lives, whether the circumstances that come to us are to our liking or not. It’s not about the events but the grace that He is asking us to appropriate to our lives so we can experience the good that is on the other side of the crucible of suffering. Do you believe this? Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Will you share these truths with someone who needs encouragement? Will you help them understand that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)? Don’t back down from this difficult verse when sharing it with others.
Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).
