God Works for Our Good

Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

In this familiar verse, Paul reminds us that God works for our good in all things. Some things that we experience do not seem good, but God redeems them all and uses them for his good purposes. We have to remember that God sees the big picture across eternity, a perspective which is very different than our “here and now” view.

The assurance has two conditions. It is for those who love God and whom are called according to his purpose. This is not meant to be a test or some high hurdle over which we cannot jump. (Do I love God enough? Do I understand his exact purpose for my life?) Rather, it means that we are to be in a love relationship with God and surrendering our will to his.

Usually people who quote this scripture do not go on to consider the next verse, which says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” This is very interesting. Our idea of good may be very different than God’s idea of good. We tend to think of good as being that which contributes to our comfort and pleasure. God’s idea of good is that our character conforms to Jesus’ character. And often it’s the tough stuff that builds character.

So we can be sure that as followers of Jesus, God works for our good. Just remember that the standard for good is Jesus!