Romans 8:28
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
This verse can be found on many coffee mugs, posters, and plaques at a Christian Book Store. Why? It is truly one of the most encouraging verses in the Bible.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by whatever difficult things life throws at us. The guarantee of life is that there will be hard times we have to face.
This verse reminds of God’s sovereignty and dispels all thoughts that He is inactive in our lives. It is a verse used to comfort the grieving, encourage someone who is down, and assure the confused.
But this verse is also very misunderstood and is even sometimes used as a weapon unintentionally. Someone is going through a rough time, and someone quotes Romans 8:28 to them. OK, but they are not there yet, they are still in the bad part of the “all things” time. This verse gives us hope to persevere, but it is not an excuse to lack compassion, empathy, and presence with someone. We must walk with them into the future.
Romans 8:28 doesn’t say everything that happens is the will of God. Be careful. Sin is not God’s will. The Bible tells us that God grieved over rebellion. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. God works everything out, but all things are not good.
What Romans 8:28 Does NOT Say
Romans 8:28 does not say all things are good. That bad thing isn’t really bad. No, that bad thing is really bad. All things are not good. Crime, betrayal, racism, hate, and death are not good.
Romans 8:28 doesn’t say all things work together for good for everybody. This verse is not: It will all work out fine for everybody. This promise is for followers of Jesus.
Romans 8:28 does not say all things happen for a reason. That thought depicts God as a tyrant who passes out suffering for suffering’s sake. It makes God’s grace negative and challenges His goodness.
What Romans 8:28 DOES say:
God does bring purpose to the pain of life. God sees pain, evil, injustice, and suffering and says: I’m going to use that. He brings good out of the bad. The bad is still bad. But He takes what the world makes so wrong, and He brings something good out of it.
God is good. Instead of being on a roller coaster where if things are good—God is good, and if things are difficult—God is bad. You can step off and know that God is good, period. Also, you can know that He didn’t cause bad things to happen just because. Rather, He uses whatever circumstance we are in to teach us about Himself.
God will work our mistakes for good. We learn, we grow, we are shaped to become who we are today. God doesn’t have to do that. He’s just that good.
The Bottom Line:
God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.
Here’s the key question: So, do you love God?
Suffering and pain can make us think God is not good, He is not present, He doesn’t care. The reality is that we live on a cursed, broken, fallen planet. Everything is broken. Satan is active. But God is good. When God got thru creating the world: We didn’t have funerals, miscarriages, hospitals, pandemics—we had life. When sin entered the world all that was infected and affected. But even in that reality, God is at work and brings good out of bad.
God is just that good. He knows. He cares. He is present to take what is really, really bad and bring good from that bad.