All Things Work Together For Good

Anger and bitterness are two noticeable signs of being focused on self and not trusting God's sovereignty in your life. When you believe that God causes all things to work together for good to those who belong to Him and love Him, you can respond to trials with joy instead of anger or bitterness. John C. Broger

One of my favorite verses is Romans 8:28 “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.” I admit that for years I struggled with this verse.  I would ask myself, “How could God mean it for my good when I suffer or go through trials?” 

On Friday I ran by the bank on my way to work to get cash.  It’s 5:45am and I pull up to the ATM and slip my card into the machine.  I’ve come to think of the ATM machine as All Things in a Minute.  The machine goes blank.  There is nothing on the screen and the only thing flashing is the card slot where you insert your ATM card.  So I press the cancel button and nothing happens.  I did that several times just in case I didn’t press it hard enough.  Nothing.  So here I sit with my ATM card stuck in the machine. 

I will confess here that I didn’t automatically think of God at this point.  So I look over and there is a phone number to call in case of emergencies.  I am thinking that this is an emergency so I call the number.  I get the automated machine and there was no option for an ATM machine eating your card.  So I immediately start thinking that if I drive off with my card still in the machine will it all of a sudden decide to spit my card out to the next person who comes along.  Then my mind jumped to identity theft.  So I had to make the hard decision to drive away and leave my card in the machine. 

As I drove off I finally started thinking about God.  Then I thought of Romans 8:28.  If all things work together for good to those who love God, then why am I worrying.  The Bible doesn’t say a few things work together for good, or some things or a couple of things.  What then came to mind was how could this be good for me?  I mean I am not Bill Gates with more money than I could possibly hope to spend in a lifetime.  Any thief who got my card and tried to steal money from me would be sorely disappointed.  I could just see them putting my card in the machine punching in the code and then saying “Are you kidding me?” 

When I calmed down long enough to really think about the situation and pray about it here is what I decided.  I canceled the card when the bank opened.  The card I used was from another bank account that I have and I had been planning on moving the money out of that account to my other bank account.  The card I used is from a small town bank that closed the branch by my house and removed the ATM.  This meant I would have to travel across town to do my banking and they closed too early in the evening for me to be able to get there in time to do my banking anyway. 

The second thing I thought about was this is a great way to save money.  I don’t carry checks with me anymore since I always use my debit card so if I have no access to my account that is a good thing. 

What is the moral of this story?  If I spent half the time thanking God for the trials that are meant for my good I would be a pretty happy and joyful person. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am sorry I didn’t think of You first.  I went into full out panic mode.  When I finally moved to thinking about You, there was a sort of peace that eventually came over me.  It reminded me that You do mean all things for my good if I love You and if I can always look at it from that perspective, I will spend less time stressing and worrying over things that don’t matter. 

Scripture: 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. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:28-39