In review of Romans 8:28 it says, ”We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT).
Today’s verse is from Romans 8:28-29. It reminds me that I know that God causes everything to work together for my good because I love him and have been called according to his purpose for me. For God know me in advance, and he chose me to become like his Son.
God works in "everything", not just isolated incidents, for my good. This does not mean that all that happens to me is good. For evil is prevalent in the fallen world I live in, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for my long-range good. God is not working to make me happy, but rather to fulfill his purpose. His purpose is not for everybody. It can be claimed only by those who love God and are called by him, that is, those the Holy Spirit convinces and enables to receive Christ. Such have a new perspective, a new mindset. They trust in God, not in life's treasures; their security is in heaven, not on earth. Their faith in God does not waver in pain in persecution because they know God is with them.
God's ultimate goal for me is to make me more like Christ. As I become more and more like him, I’ll discover my true self, the person I was created to be. So how can I become like Christ? By reading and heeding the Word, by studying his life on earth through the Gospels, by spending time in prayer, by being filled with his Spirit, and by doing his work in the world.
I’m reminded this morning that God is a good God, and he has good plans for my life. Others may have bad plans for me, and I may make some bad plans for myself, but God only has good plans for me and my life.
Not everything in my life may be good, God never promise that. He didn’t say everything that happens in my life would be good. For I live on a broken planet. Nothing works perfectly. My body is broken. It doesn’t always work the right way. My mind is broken. It doesn’t think the right way. The weather is broken, the economy’s broken, relationships are broken. Nothing is perfect.
God did not promise me perfection. That’s called heaven! In heaven, there will be no sorrow, sadness, sickness, or suffering. I should not expect heaven to be on earth, because the earth is filled with brokenness. But even in the middle of all this brokenness, God has a good plan for my life. He is greater than my bad choices, and he can fit even foolish decisions into a good plan. What a God! He can turn crucifixions into resurrections.
The Bible says in Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT). This is not a promise for everybody in the world. Not everything is working together for good for everybody. But everything is working together for good for those who say, “God, I give you my life. I want to fulfill the purpose you made me for.” And even then, it doesn’t say all things are good. It says they all work together for my good, even the bad and even the bitter.
Much like making a cake, the individual ingredients don’t taste good. Flour by itself does not taste good. Raw eggs do not taste good. Vanilla by itself does not taste good. But if all are mixed together, a tasty masterpiece can be created.
Likewise, when I let God work all the “ingredients” together, God can take the bitter, put it in the batter, and make me better. Why? Because he’s a good God.
The more I pray, the better I’m going to know my purpose. And the better I know my purpose, the more God can use everything in my life, even the bitter and broken things.
Bottom Line:
With whatever that happens, God will use for his purpose.
What this means to me:
And I know that all that happens to me is working for my good, because I love God and he will fit into his purpose for me.
In summary, God causes everything (the good and the bad) to work together for my good God isn't working to make me happy but rather to fulfill with my life his purposes. Ultimately he wants to make me more like Christ. In doing so, I'll learn my true self.
This morning Father I thank you for a great weekend with family and rest. Also thank you for helping me sort through a multitude of emails. Today I ask you Father to give me wisdom and guidance in sorting through, assigning tasks, and keeping things moving forward to orchestrate a successful move this coming weekend. Help me to lead well and to interact rightly with those I encounter. Help me to be more like Jesus. These things I pray in your Jesus name, Amen!
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