One of the most quoted Scriptures among Christ followers who are experiencing difficulty is Romans 8:28 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. It gives us great comfort to realize that God is orchestrating all of the circumstances in our lives for our good.
Let me give you a little advice, though. When one of your friends is going through challenging times, don’t quote Romans 8:28 to them, especially when they first share with you. They may give you a knuckle sandwich because what they need in that moment is to be listened to with compassion and understanding. For example, that’s not what the families of the San Bernardino shooting need to hear right now. We need to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. There may be a later time to share this verse as you are led by the Holy Spirit.
What is this “good” this verse speaks of? Sometimes, it’s the blessing of good circumstances. For example, once when Ellen and I were on a date at a movie, my phone was blowing up with calls from one of my sons. I finally stepped out asking what was going on. He calmly informed me that he had put a pan of oil on the stove and forgotten about it when he got engrossed in a sports show upstairs. His younger brother soon asked him, “Why is smoke coming up the stairs?” The oil had caught on fire and the cabinets above were burning. Thankfully, they got it out quickly with a fire extinguisher. (Buy a fire extinguisher if you are currently raising teens!) My wife had been wanting to repaint the bottom portion of our house. God granted her desire when the insurance paid someone to paint it for her after all of the smoke damage. Romans 8:28! Right?
A few years later, the school system shocked us when they disagreed that our daughter with Downs should continue in regular classes as she had the first seven years of school. We ended up in a very stressful, expensive legal battle. We believed strongly that we would win in court because of federal disability laws. We had what seemed to be strong confirmations from the Lord from reliable sources. Yet in the end, we lost all three times. It wiped out our meager college savings for our children. And our daughter had to be home schooled.
In addition, our home church refused to allow her to attend the teen girls’ small group in our neighborhood, regardless of how much we appealed to them. In the end, Bekah used to cry about not being able to attend school with her friends. And, she cried because the church leadership refused to allow her to attend the girls’ small group. She would have done fine in both.
Though we are not bitter and have forgiven all, 10 years later, I don’t see Romans 8:28 for her. In fact, I see what appears to be the opposite. She lost a lot of her ability to verbally communicate, write, have friends, mature socially and grow in her love for Jesus. Yet, I want to proclaim loudly that Romans 8:28 is still true! It’s not dependent on whether we see it. In fact, in verse 29, He tells us that the most important “good’ God does is to conform us to His image. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Jesus has used that story to help many trust that Romans 8:28 is true for them when they see it and when they don’t. That’s a form of being conformed to His image
Believe it! It’s the Gospel.
Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!
