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ROMANS 8:28 “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.” (KJV, NKJV)
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. (NIV)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (NASU)
And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, (even) to them that are called according to (his) purpose. (ASV)
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. (RSV)
And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God are fitting into his plans. (TLB)
This is a Scripture Verse that I recommend ALL Christians memorize. All Scripture is worthy of our memory. But this one universally applies so much to every circumstance in our Christian lives that it is vital for our survival and growth. Big claim, huh?
I also heartily recommend this verse to any Christian who would be a preacher or teacher for memorization. It is so well organized that it gives instant organization to any lesson or sermon and is, again, so universally applicable to all situations in our lives. I love Scriptures which handily give themselves to “three points, a poem and a prayer.” But this one organizes itself into five ready truths:
1. Qualifier: Love Him, Called for His purpose, check out following verses
2. We can KNOW this Truth
3. ALL THINGS – Everything, not just some things or some of the time.
4. Work Together. He works all things together.
5. They work together for our good!
I also find it interesting that this particular verse is stated slightly differently in many of the versions of the Bible. As before, I will not tell you which version you should use or teach and preach from. But notice how the different wording between versions can change what this Scripture is saying to the reader. Appropriate warning given.
Ok, so back to the beginning of the verse. We KNOW! Live the Christian life long enough and work through all the things life brings our way and we will eventually, absolutely know that God is working in them and for our good. We don’t have to guess He is. We don’t have to think He might. We don’t have to hope He will some day. We don’t even have to wait long enough or make it to heaven to absolutely see and know that He is working all things for our good. We can know that truth.
He is actually working in ALL THINGS. Paul doesn’t say some of the things in our lives. He doesn’t suggest God only works in the good things, but maybe not the things that appear to us to not be so good. He doesn’t even say that this applies to only holy things. He says we can absolutely know that He works His work in ALL things in our lives. And boy do we need to stand on this truth when cancer comes, or we lose our job or everything around us starts to come apart.
We can learn from this truth that if we keep trusting in Him, he will take whatever “all things” means to us at this time and show us how He is working it to our good. And you know what? He doesn’t need our advice about how to do it. He doesn’t need us to tell Him what “Good” is. He knows. We are the ones who take all the things in our lives that don’t seem so good and translate them into some bad that He obviously does not have under His control.
This is the strong point where testimony of God’s goodness in our lives needs to support the evidence of this truth. And, if you have not experienced the seemingly bad things that come along and make us think the Lord isn’t in control, believe me, they will come to you soon enough. Have this verse memorized so you can count on the truth in it when those times come!
Don’t pass up the truth of the words, “work together.” It is too easy to think, well, God will somehow bring this all together for my good. I have been impressed so many times when I look back on God’s hands at work in so many thousands of details about what I have gone through that I never saw how he “WORKED” it together.
I quite often see (if I will take the time and stop and take a good look at what He is really doing here) the Master Hands of the universe working this detail and that circumstance into a network that I almost never see to bring about an end that I never would have suspected, or even hoped for. Like all of us, so many times, I see the end work of what He has done and never see the intricate details of everything and every circumstance He chose to use to bring that end together.
We think we work…and yes, He has blessed us to be able to work to do what He has called us to do. But way too many times, we think that the ultimate end to what He has accomplished might have been our work, or even circumstances which just happened to bring about His good. How often do we cheat ourselves by not pausing to look at all the miraculous details He works together to bring about what ends up being our end result? How often do we miss seeing how he even uses us to bring about His good, not only in our lives, but in the lives of so many around us?
And yes, He works all things for good. Suggesting that these things work “for the good” might make us think that although bad things happen that are for our own good, they aren’t exactly good in themselves. Ask Job what he thought about that. This is where a good measure of faith must step in.
When I think all is bad around me, I need to stand on this truth and find how God is working it for GOOD. It doesn’t take the same measure of faith to believe God is working when He lets us in on all the details of what He is doing…like He would ever think He needed to do that. Real faith is when we cannot see where the Lord is going with this and trust Him to work all things together for my good.
When you have lost all your children in a terrible catastrophe, thieves have come in and stolen all your earthly possessions, you are sitting in the trash heap of life, have boils all over your body and your loving wife is telling you to “curse God and die,” it takes the greatest faith in the world to say, “even if He slays me, I will still serve Him!”
Now notice the qualifier: “those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” There is a whole month’s worth of teaching in verses 29 and 30. God foreknew us, He predestined us (you go Calvinists!), He called us, He justified us and He has/is/will glorify us!
There is a lot there and it would take a long time for any seminary student to work through all the meanings of what Paul is saying here. But, don’t make it too complicated. The real qualifier here is that we are those who LOVE GOD, and therefore, are also called to or for HIS PURPOSE. We can’t get too lost in things that don’t seem to work out like we like them to if we remember we are to first love God and make sure of our calling in Him.
We can absolutely KNOW that in ALL THINGS, God WORKS TOGETHER all the details of all the circumstances of our lives and works them together to bring about GOOD, not just for us, but GOOD that is His good. And, He does this because we love Him and He loves us and we are CALLED according to His purpose.
At the end of our troubles, having put our faith and trust in the One who “laid the foundations of the world” (Job 38:4), maybe, even if we don’t get all the answers to our “WHY”, having learned that He can “do everything” and that “no purpose of His can be withheld from Him,” we can say with Job, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.” (Job 42:1-6) Like Job, knowing all this, His working should be good enough for us…for anything He walks with us through!
Questions to Ponder: Why does God choose not to tell us all the details of what He works through in our lives? Did Job ever find out why he had to go through the trials he faced? Is ultimately knowing God good enough an answer for what we go through in life? I wrote more on this memory verse than any other so far. Is that because I have needed this verse more often than others? Is there always comfort when it seems like everything happening to me is bad? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Other texts and Scriptures to examine and study: Read the entire book of Job, especially when disasters, trials and difficulties come your way that seem to be out of His control. Is anything too hard for God? Look at Genesis 18:14 and Jeremiah 32:27. Read the rest of Romans 8, verses 31-39. Something about more than conquerors and nothing being able to separate us from the love of our Lord.
 
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