God Works for Good in All Things
Romans 8:28 (NASV)
"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."
This passage is one of God's greatest promises and blessings. One full
of hope. Those who love God seek not to do things according to their own
will, but seek to please Him by following His will, by
living according to His purpose for their lives. For such people
God works to bring forth good out of all things. When we consider some
of the circumstances of life like sickness, success, failure, good fortune,
or any other painful occurrence, the total result of all these things for
the person who is living in God's love is good fruit. A good example of
this in Scripture is the story of Joseph, which can be found in Genesis
37-50. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob. And because of this, jealousy
was aroused in the hearts of his
older brothers. And this jealousy caused them to sell their own
brother into slavery. As a slave in the house of an Egyptian nobleman named
Potiphar, Joseph performed his duties so well that he was made overseer
of his whole household. But Potiphar's wife had designs on the young and
handsome Joseph. When he resisted her advances, the result was his imprisonment.
But Joseph continued to love God and remain faithful to Him in spite of
his misfortunes. In the end God worked things out for good, for at the
right time He arranged circumstances in such a way so that Joseph became
second only to the Pharaoh in the rulership of Egypt, and he delivered
the nation from famine.
The lesson we can learn from all this is that the good and bad things
that happen to us can help to draw us closer to God. Out of the worst situations
we sometimes face in life, we can have the hope that as long as we are
in Christ, all things will ultimately work together for good.
