Christians draw great hope from the promises of God. One such promise that encourages us during hard times is Romans 8:28. In this familiar verse, Paul reminds us of the good purposes that God has in all that He allows in our lives. “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.” Hearing this promise, we focus on the fact that things are working for good, and we look for the good in the difficulties. This is not a bad exercise; God often brings good and blessings out of bad circumstances. However, the promise is not that all things work out for good, but that all things work together for good. This encourages me because it means that I don’t have to say that bad things are good. I don’t have to search and search for the good things that came out of every event in my life. I liken this concept to a puzzle. When we look at all the puzzle pieces, some are beautiful and some are ugly. Some of the pieces are bright and colorful, while others are dark and shadowy. When we put a puzzle together, we don’t analyze each individual piece and look for the beauty in each of them. We don’t have to because we know we are working toward a beautiful picture in its completion. What we find, then, is that those dark and ugly pieces fit into the larger picture by adding depth and beauty. It is a beauty that we appreciate only when the puzzle is complete. This is how God is working in our lives. Some of the events in our lives are bad and ugly. But God can use even those pieces of our story to create a picture with such depth of beauty that it would blow our minds. So trust God’s promise that all things do work together for good. –Pastor Rory
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: Central Seminary Report–Ron Gotzman
10AM: Ron Gotzman–The Goodness of God’s Work–Romans 8:28
No Evening Gathering
Leave a Reply