One of the most arresting statements in Scripture is this one: “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, ESV). Different translations of this passage suggest different nuances: for those who love God, “all things work together for good” (ESV, KJV); “in all things God works for the good” (NIV); “God causes all things to work together for good” (NASB). In each case there’s an omni-inclusiveness in “all things.”
The context of this passage shows that in the midst of a world that groans under suffering and evil, God’s main concern is conforming His children to the image of Christ. And He works through the challenging circumstances of our lives to help develop that Christlikeness in us. We can be assured that whatever difficulty He has allowed in our lives has been Father-filtered, through His fingers of wisdom and love.
The apostle Paul wrote Romans 8:28, and his life was filled with hardship, beatings, shipwrecks, cold, hunger, and sorrow. Paul was neither naive about suffering nor isolated from it.
Perhaps the greatest test of whether we who are Christ’s followers believe the truth of this verse is to identify the very worst things that have ever happened to us, then to ask whether we believe God will in the end somehow use those things for our good. The Bible is emphatic that He will. We have no reason to think He’ll be any less trustworthy concerning this than with any other promise He has made.
A few months ago, I visited Red Mountain Church in Mesa, Arizona, and shared on Romans 8, and how God uses adversity in our lives for eternal good:
