26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
Only Good Things
We find another of those really popular, quotable verses in today’s passage. And, we discover again a verse that is often misquoted. It’s verse 28. Usually it’s quoted this way: “God causes everything to work together for good.” Or, “God causes everything to work together for good for those who love him.”
I’ll bet that 90% of the time I hear that passage quoted, it’s one of those two ways. And that’s not what the verse says. If you don’t believe me, read it again.
You see, the problem with quoting it this way, is we think that only good things happen to people who love God. Even when bad things happen, we explain away the bad one of two ways. Either the person doesn’t really love God the way they should, hence the bad things happening. Or, the bad things are going to turn into something good. Because everything becomes good for those who love God.
The biggest issue I have with quoting this verse incorrectly is that it causes people to believe that God must be angry with them when bad happens. Either they must not love God the way they thought, or they have to have more faith and patience to wait for the bad thing to turn into a good thing.
Let’s look at the verse correctly. What it actually says is God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God. Did you catch that difference.
What if bad things can work for your good? I don’t know about you, but often my character is formed through difficult times more than through good times. I learn more about myself as I endure a trial than I do in the midst of easy days. My seasons of doubt have strengthen my faith more than any other time.
I don’t believe this passage is promising that every bad experience will become good. What I believe it’s telling us is that God can cause every experience – good or bad – to draw me closer to him if I allow it. If, in the midst of any circumstance, no matter how bad it is, I choose to trust him and lean on him, then I will grow in my faith and confidence regardless of the battle I face.
Every circumstance can be used for my good if I allow God to use it.
My prayer: Lord, help me to trust you in the midst of every circumstance of life. When things are going amazing, help me to still trust you. When things are terrible, help me to never stop trusting you. Take every moment of my life and shape me through it. Let me learn from my experiences, I pray. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
