Jan 12 2009
Do All Things Work Together For Good? (P3)
You have heard it said, “God works all things for our good”. However, if you are like me - like most people I’ve talked to - there are times in life when you cannot see the good. In fact, looking back years later, you may still be unable to see any good which came from a particular situation of series of events. Does this mean God lost control of your situation? Does this mean we can’t trust what He says?
No, what it does mean is:
One - we do not understand God’s ways. In other words, God is infinite, we are finite. Thus in His wisdom, He does things we cannot, may never, understand. Welcome to Trust 101!
Two - We have not comprehended the truth in this passage. So often we take verses such as the one loosely quoted above out of context. As we’ve seen, this is a dangerous practice.
So, what do we find when we look at this verse in context.
One, this passage is directly related to our identity with Christ. We are identified with Him, in part, through suffering.
Two, the verse immediately following ‘all things for good’ tells us ‘why’ we experience trials. God has predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Regardless of your interpretation of predestined, we can gain much understanding by looking at what God has predestined us to become.
We are to be conformed to Jesus’ likeness. In otherwords, the good which God is working in a believer’s life is conformation to Jesus’s likeness. Jesus is many things, but holiness is an intrical part of His being. Thus, as we are told elsewhere, we are to be holy as He is holy. The good God is working in our lives, in part, is holiness - conformity to His image.
As the Psalmist said, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees (law, word, teaching).” (119:71). The good which adversity brings to our lives is heart and soul change. Through trial we learn.
For example, while most of us want to be more patient - with our spouse, our children, our siblings, our parents, our co-workers, our neighbors, our friends - patience is a learned trait. Patience literally means, suffer-long!
Furthermore, talk is cheap. We may say we love our family, our friends, etc, but until our words our tested, its just hot air. In other words, sacrificial love can only be learned by experience.
Take the joy which Scripture described. This kind of joy cannot be learned in ‘happy’ circumstances.
Take Job. Don’t be fooled into thinking we really know why Job was tested. The book of Job doesn’t end with Satan admitting defeat, it ends with Job coming to understand his relationship with God (42:5). Job never even knew what little we know, but he did come to better understand His God.
Joseph did not understand why he suffered until MUCH later in life.
David suffered greatly at the hands of Saul. Why? Because GOD made him the chosen king long before Saul died. God gave him popularity while a jealous, insecure king still reigned. However, God used David’s trials to make him a ‘man after God’s own heart.’
Thus, we may not demand our Sovereign Creator explain Himself to us. We may ask ‘Why’, but we may not demand He reveal His ways. While three Psalms begin with ‘why’ (10, 22, 74), all three end with trust.
In other words, we do not need to know why things happen (although it is normal to want to know). We just need to remember the purpose of trials - our conformity to Christ - and then trust the One who is in control of even this.
