All Things Work For The Good Of Those He Loves?

As men, we all fear the unknown and of what might happen next, especially when there is something we anticipate or worry for. Be it the results of a big exam, the next promotion in our career, financial status in the next few years to come, the health of our loved ones, our lifetime partner and more. And we realised that in this fallen world, many people see the things happening around them as something that will happen by chance or by luck. Because of that, it is natural for one to lose peace. When we see things around us as something that happens by chance or luck, we will only be helplessly waiting our entire lives for the next best thing or a bad news to come knocking. But we give thanks that this is not the case, for our Lord tells us that all things happen within the sovereignty of our God. One of the famed verses people use to uplift, encourage and strengthen another believer in faith is in Romans 8:28a, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” And who are those who love Him? Romans 8:28b, those who know Him and “who has been called according to His purposes.” Now this may be a short and frequently used verse, but as we ponder on it, how much we internalise this is also going to determine where our hope in life lies in. To be honest, when we are at a good season in life, this could be a very affirming and hopeful truth to hear. But when we are in our valley times, many may also reject, disagree or take this verse lightly as they are treading on challenges and cannot see the “good” that God is saying here. Why? Because there is still a part of them that puts their hope in what they can see, experience or gain by what they see before them. They walk by sight and see all these as opportunities of gaining goodness in life. However, Romans 8:24 says, “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Hopes placed on what is seen in or on worldly opportunities can never give us peace because there will always be a flip side to face. In gains, there will be losses. In successes, there will always be failures. Only a hope in the Lord assures goodness as we wait upon Him. No wait in the Lord is wasted.

He works all things for the good of those He loves. 

But this can still seem so vague for the struggling Christian. Because the reality before our eyes are limiting our thoughts and emotions to the disheartenment of our circumstances. We know Romans 8:28, but we are in despair, we are tired in this race, we are disappointed. It is hard to see God working for our good in times like this. This is why, we cannot merely look at one verse here, but to know the whole book of God’s word, the records, the stories, the characters, the storyline to testify that this verse in Romans 8:28 stands true. I was reading the overview of Genesis to Malachi a few days back and we see this very consistent pattern of men seeing God, being redeemed yet falling again. But in every timeline, when there is a person or a group that faithfully loves and follows after God’s ways, they may start off with the same strife but their destination is different. We look at Joseph’s story of being sold as a slave. Was God working for His good? In the eyes of an onlooker, it might not seem so when things are so dire. He was later framed and jailed. But as we follow through the end of his story, he became an important figure to the Pharaoh and saved the nation and his family. Then we have the story of David. Sure he was known as a man after God’s heart, but he had his fair share of unpleasant accounts— when he had to escape from being killed by Saul and was in hiding for a good few years. But it was in the 7 years that he let Saul go twice, he won over the hearts of the people, displaying his integrity and righteousness, that God rose him up rightful in the eyes of men as the next king of Israel. So yes, all things work for the good of those God loves. 

Now of course, it is not that we are not familiar with these stories. There are also many times when we look back at past struggles but we also witness how God has showered His guidance, providence and help at the end. These are all the love and grace of the Lord we receive. However, the true victory comes when we see have the perseverance and submission of faith happening right now in the midst of our challenges. The goodness of God does not only surface tomorrow or when things turn for the better. The full experience and effect of God’s grace can be received right now, as we test and approve God’s faithfulness and leading, and from there, guard our hearts and minds. Do not let one day’s sorrows erase off all the many past days of grace that God has given us. Like when I am facing some issues that are hard to overcome, it is easy to grumble but when I test and affirm how God has led me to this situation, actually shown me help through certain people or made some little progress along the way, it stops me from brushing off God’s many accounts of grace. The truth is, we tend to quickly discredit God in times of trouble. But we do not realise that it is actually our disbelief that adds on to our misery. Our pains and trials does not actually come from people or our situations, but because we loosen our grip on God’s word and we take His promises lightly. So we only feel more burdened, more troubled, more angered, more doubts.
However, in our brief time in this world, God is with us. He is merciful and He knows us. He knows we are fast to forget the goodness of yesterday and immortalise our present troubles. So in Romans 8:26, it says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” So brothers and sisters, if you are at a moment in life where you are not seeing the works of God’s hand in some problems, you do not know how to restore your faith, remember that the Lord is the one that searches our hearts and through the Holy Spirit, He intercedes and guides us. So do not just know Romans 8:28, affirm it as you pray, as you seek Him and as you let the Spirit guide you. Do not place your hopes on awaiting on chance or a worldly opportunity. Let us be discerning to where the source of our hope lies in, and let it always be based on the trust in what God has said, what God says is true goodness. That is the good He works out for us. God bless.