How does God work good out of the not so good?

Over the years I have come to appreciate the words from Romans 8:28. “And we know (with great confidence) that God (who is deeply concerned about us) causes all things to work together (as a plan) for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose (Amplified Bible).”  For years I was able to recite this verse from memory and would have said that I believed it, but it wasn’t until the birth of my son with Down syndrome that my understanding of this Scripture was truly challenged.

You see, up until Brady’s birth, all and all. everything was good. I had married my college sweetheart and had a wonderful job. We had our first two children, girl first, boy second, just as we had planned. Honestly, I didn’t see the need for a third child when we already had one of each. We had things under control. Or so we thought. The truth is, I did not want a child with special needs. It didn’t fit into the plans we had for our neat little family. The reality of having a child who was different was hard (it still is sometimes, okay, a lot of times).

This unexpected  “bump in the road” (our Brady) had me crying out to the Lord for answers. God used my hurt to make me desperate for Him.  Here is some of what I learned (and am continuing to learn) about the meaning of Romans 8:28: “God causes” all things to work together, says to us, God is Sovereign. He is in full control, therefore, we are not. If He is Sovereign, He will allow nothing to come into our lives that does not first pass through His good and loving hands. Nothing catches God by surprise. Nothing.

Secondly, “for good” does not mean what I once thought it did. “Good” is not  for our comfort or necessarily for our pleasure. This life isn’t so much about us, rather it’s about God’s story in which we are called to be a part of. God’s ways are far, far beyond our ways. He sees our lives from a heavenly eternal perspective, a much bigger picture than we can see right now.

God causing all things to “work together for good,” says this to us. God is using our circumstances, especially the ones that make us more desperate for Him, to conform us into the likeness of Christ. Possessing Christlikeness is very good. As Christians this is to be our aim, to be a part of God’s story and to be like Jesus.  

And finally, the last part of Romans 8:28, “for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose” is describing for us a Love relationship between God and His children. It’s a relationship based on faith in Someone we cannot physically see. It is perhaps the craziest, most radical type of relationship any of us would choose to place our faith in, yet it is in this love - trust relationship we will find our greatest source of Hope. God is Sovereign and He is good and God has “got this,” whatever our “this” may be. The harder the trial, the more we depend on Him, the more of Him we will receive.

What’s your latest bump in the road? Are there hard places (or people) in your life challenging you to see any “good” that could possibly come from them? Ask God today to use this circumstance or person to begin to conform you to be more like Jesus. Begin writing down any of the ways you may be seeing Jesus at work in you. Then thank Him for His work.