"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
All things; God says all things.
Absolutes are not a successful part of the human experience. We are far too flawed to do anything consistently all the time, good or bad. We are equally unsuccessful at not doing things all the time. How many times have we said to ourselves, "wow, I will never do that again," only to turn around and in fact do it again.
So as a human, who is intimately acquainted with my inability to "always" or "never" do something, this verse stopped me in my tracks the other day. I couldn't help but ask God the question, "Really? All things? All the good ones and the bad? You really are going to use everything in my life, past, present and future for good? The truth is, I just can't see how that is possible."
But God very gently answered me, "You don't have to be able to see how that is possible, because I do know how it's possible."
So why is it so hard for me to see how it is possible? Do I doubt God's ability? Well, if I am being completely honest, I guess I do. Not so much because I think He's inadequate, but because I know the darkness of the things that have happened in my life and in the lives of other people whom I know are believers! I mean, let's face it, some really horrible things have happened in the world to people. People are abused, victimized and hurt everyday. And on the other side of that coin, people are abusers, aggressors and even murderers. Yet some of those very people come to know Christ and are in fact "called according to His purpose." Paul, who actually wrote Romans, is a perfect example of that. He was a murderer and yet was called by God. So if I am to take the Bible, and God, at His word, that means that all those things work together for good too. Do you blame me for being skeptical? Are you skeptical too?
But thankfully, I am not the final say on whether what God says is true. As God reminded me, I don't have to know how, I just have to know WHO. As I have grown in my relationship with Christ, I have learned who He is. Studying the old testament has taught me a great deal about God's character and through prayer and personal experience, I have learned that God has never let me down. He has in fact carried me when I needed carrying, walked beside me when I needed a companion and worked through me once I finally came to the end of myself and gave it all over to Him. The Creator is much smarter than the creation. God doesn't need me to understand how He does things in order for Him to be capable of being consistent and successful with absolutes such as ALL.
So do I know how God will use all of my past, present and future for good? no. But I do know that He will and on that promise, I can rest.
As a matter of fact, He has never failed. He has always been and He has never contradicted Himself. So I will sit back, rest on Him and watch how He can turn ugly to beautiful and grief into Joy.
