Weekend Words

 

From Be Still and Know... (these two reading followed each other and used the same key verse)

"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

Has some friend quoted this verse to you in time of trouble?  What was your reaction?  Did you answer, "That is alright for you to quote to me, but you are not going through the trouble I am"?  It is easy to share it with others but not so easy to apply it to the trouble we face ourselves.

Perhaps we should carefully consider each part of the verse to know what it really says.

First, Paul writes, "...all things WORK together for good."  It is not by luck or by accident but by God "working" in our lives.  In Philippians 2:13 (Phillips) Paul said, "For it is God who is at work within you."

It is not just some things that are working, or easy things, or pleasant things, but ALL things.  It doesn't say they have worked or will work, but "work" now, today.

Paul continues, "All things work TOGETHER."  When we view our experiences singly, often they are not good.  Yet as we commit them to God, He will work them together for our good.

Perhaps today you are questioning the circumstances in your life.  You may be asking God to remove them.  But God desires to accomplish His purpose for your life.  The pattern of His plan may not be clear to you yet, but you can be sure He is working and He wants to do nothing short of His best for you.  God puts "signs of assurance" along the path of our lives, saying, "God is at work."

Jeremiah 29:11 (Rotherham) says, "I know the plans I am planning for you, declareth Jehovah God, plans of welfare and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope."

What assurance this is for us today!  He doesn't say that we can hope or suppose that all things are working together for our good, but we can KNOW.

It has been said, "Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything."

Paul reminds us that not only do all our trials work together, but, "...all things work together for GOOD."  Is tragedy good?  Is sickness good?  Is bereavement good?  Usually we interpret good as comfort, ease, pleasure.  We think of good as being free from pain, having a lovely home, the latest luxuries, such things.  We measure good in terms of success, achievements of aims and goals in life.

But this is not God's way, necessarily, of demonstrating His goodness.  Through the trials and troubles that come into our lives He is proving His goodness.  The final results are good.  The good which God has promised may not always seem good to us as we go through it.  But we see only the immediate, while God knows the ultimate outworking of His plans for us.

It is important what we do in the difficult circumstances of our lives.  As we let God fit them together He will bring good out of them.  This is promised for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  It is more than having a passive attitude of submission to them, but it is letting God do the work.

He is not in a hurry as He works, but patiently waits for us to learn our lessons.

The Living Bible says, "We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans" (Romans 8:28).  Are we fitting into them?

When we work on a picture puzzle we put all its pieces out before us.  At first we wonder where to start and how the pieces will fit together.  As we begin to work, piece by piece, the picture begins to develop.  Eventually the puzzle is completed with a picture just like the picture on the box.

God's plan for our lives is to conform us to the image of His Son.  As we let Him fit every piece of our lives together, He transforms them more and more into the likeness of His Son.