“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
- Romans 8:28
In a day when so many ask God, “Why?” – when trials and loss come into our lives, the verse above can either be one of great encouragement or great frustration. In the middle of difficulty, it’s hard to see how good can come out of it. Sometimes we may be tempted to think, “Why can’t we just enjoy the Lord‘s blessing? – Why the trials? And if trials, why this one, Lord?” Those are questions we’ve all asked ourselves at one time or another. It’s impossible to go on with life and not ask at least one of those questions once! I don’t know why bad things happen to good people, but in the paragraph below, I can give a little demonstration as to how Romans 8:28 makes sense…
It is good to remind ourselves that this verse does not say that everything that happens is good! But … it works together for good.
Have you ever been hungry before? (That’s a dumb question! Of course you’ve been hungry before!)
Let’s say that you come to my house, knock on the door and say, “I’m hungry.”
I reply, “Come on in man, I’m gonna’ give you a cup of flour.”
That doesn’t sound too good, does it?
“I have it!” I exclaim, “How about a spoon full of salt – now that will fill you up!”
You say, “Uh, that won’t help.”
“How bout a spoonful of baking soda?” – (now that will wake you up in the morning!)
“You’re probably getting dry by now, so lets pour down a half a cup of Crisco and chase it down with a cup of buttermilk.”
You say, “Brother, that would taste terrible!”
“Well,” I reply, “How about we mix them all together and make biscuits?”
Did you know that the individual ingredients for biscuits taste lousy? But they work together for biscuits.
I don’t know why bad things happen to good people, but I do know this: Jesus has a purpose for it all, though we may not always see it. Just remember that everything that happens to you may not be good, but it will work together for good…
About the Author
Lynn, I am WAY behind on my blog reading (along with everthing else), but I had to let you know how much I enjoyed this devotional. It’s the best illustration of Romans 8:28 I’ve ever read!
Keep up the good writing, my friend!
God bless,
Melissa
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