Main Thought: We are valuable to God and have a purpose in spite of where we have been, where we are or where we are headed.
“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 NKJV
A familiar scripture, possibly a top ten on your list and mine. Why? This is one of those hope-filled scriptures that we can cling to. Every time life throws those extreme or unexpected difficulties at us, Romans 8:28 is there to help. How does this thought tie in with the theme that God uses us in spite of where we are headed?
Times of extreme or unexpected difficulties stretch us as Christians in our feelings of usefulness in the kingdom. Whether sickness, death, natural disaster or emotional issues, things that are unexpected or extreme swallow us in feelings of hopelessness. How can God use me when my health is bad? My family is struggling? Or our job is uncertain? These are three areas where I have struggled to make sense of it all and you can name others I am sure.
God answers us through the writings of Paul in Romans 8:28. He states that as long as we love God and are called, then all things work for good. We are called because we are children of God and we have a purpose. However, working together for good doesn’t mean that all things are good.
The death of my father when I was twenty eight years old was not good to me. It was sudden and unexpected, an aneurysm claiming his life. As a child of God and one who loved Him, He made it work out for good. Losing my father drove me into the Word for answers and comfort and as an outlet for my grief, my writing was birthing. Yes, I had dabbled in writing since I was nine years old but God took a bad situation and worked it for my good, pointing me in a direction which is now a ministry and career.
For a year after his death, I felt I had no purpose but to make it through one more day. Very slowly, God began the healing process and in time, I was able to comfort others with the comfort I had received. Crying with those who lost parents, I experienced empathy because I had been there. Sharing my experience of losing a parent helped others through general conversation and also my article writing. This grief is also channeled into my fiction writing, another way that God has utilized this experience of difficulty.
Don’t try to figure out a purpose for extreme or unexpected difficulties while you are in their midst. Wait, grieve if need be and live until this too has passed. Then when things are becoming normal and healing is beginning, open up to the good that God wants to bring out of the hardship. Give yourself time and know that God is for you and ready to turn everything that the devil and others have meant for your harm to your good.
Joseph speaking to the brothers that tried to take his life in Genesis 50:20 says:
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” NKJV
During Joseph’s difficult time, it must have been hard to see good and a future but God had a plan. Don’t despair during hard times. Seek God in prayer and the Word and know that good will come out of what has taken place.
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