38 of 365 - All Things for Good

​And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
 
Another promise in the Bible is that God can work all things for good for those who love God and are in line with His purposes.
 
Life is full of hard circumstances and seasons. Not all things are good in themselves…death, illness, heartbreak. But God is able to use all circumstances and make something beautiful out of them.
 
There’s a condition to this promise: it is for those who love God, and it is to further His purposes and plans. And when we truly love God, we want what He wants. We want His plans to prevail, even if they might look different than what we think or hope at the time.
 
This promise is not to make our life easy and comfortable, but to transform us; to make us holy.
 
We see this in the life of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his own family and then falsely accused and thrown in prison for years. His life was not easy. But God was working in him and the circumstances around him. God was orchestrating everything to put Joseph in a position to become a leader and to bring his family to Egypt.
 
Similarly, the life of Jesus – as we will discover journeying through the Bible – was not easy. But through it all, God was orchestrating events that resulted in our brokenness being redeemed and restored.
 
We can have peace in knowing that our job is to love God and seek His will. Any mistakes we make along the way, sins we can’t shake, terrible circumstances we find ourselves in regardless of the cause…all of it can be used by Him for a bigger and better purpose when we shake our desire for comfort and control and walk in obedience to His call. Holy is birthed from the hard.
 
Question: Have you experienced trials that seemed hopeless and unredeemable at the time ultimately have a God-sized positive outcome?