Even the Worst Works for Good

This is one of the verses that causes us the most distress when our lives are at their most difficult. As long as the wind blows gently, we can easily say, "Lord, I believe." But when the storms of life come, we cry out, "Help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24).

And yet we know that the verse is true. God causes all things to work together for good. We know it because the Bible says so. Faith makes it our own, even if we cannot see or understand it.

We know it is true because of the character of God. If He is a God of infinite love, infinite wisdom, and infinite power, then it follows that He plans and worksAnother word for deeds or actions. God's works are perfect (Gen 1:31), men's can be good works (Matt 5:16) or dead (Heb 6:1). On the basis of his works, unbelieving... More everything for our good.

We know it is true – because of the experience of God's people. A devotional book tells the story of a sole survivor of a shipwreck who was cast away on an uninhabited island. He was able to build himself a hut in which he kept everything he had saved from the wreck. He prayed to God for salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More and anxiously searched the horizon to make himself known to any passing ship.

One day, to his horror, he saw his hut on fire: everything he owned had gone up in flames. But what had looked like the worst thing imaginable was actually the best thing that could have happened to him. "We noticed your smoke signal," said the captain of the ship that came to his rescue. Let us always remember that when our lives are in God's hands, "all things work together for good."

Admittedly, there are times when faith wavers, when the burden seems overwhelming and the darkness unbearable. In our despair, we ask ourselves: "How can good ever come out of this situation?" There is an answer to this. We find the good that God works out of it in the next verse (Romans 8:29) – namely that we may "be conformed to the image of his Son." It is the sculptor's chisel that hammers away the marble in order to produce the image of ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More. As the blows of life chisel away all that is unfit in us, we are transformed into His glorious image. So if we can find absolutely nothing good in the hardships of life – then this one thing: transformation into the image of ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More.