God's Good Purposes

Today we sang in church, "You make all things work together for my good."  This is entirely biblical, yet it does not mean we always actually believe this is true.  If we believed this was true without fail, we would receive every trial and trouble in life as a gift from our good and gracious God.  There would be no angry venting over what frustrates us, bitterness over what grieves us, or complaining.  Fear, worries and anxiety over unknowns because of our God we know and knows us.  Like Paul's exhortation to the Philippians, believing God makes all things work together for good enables us to rejoice in the LORD always, even when we experience sorrow and pain.

In the moment we cannot change the feelings or emotions that flood through our bodies or the thoughts that pepper our minds, but the born again Christian can build our entire lives upon the reality of God and His word.  God has revealed His goodness, power and sovereignty over all in His word, and these facts enable us to reject ungodly thoughts and replace them with God-honouring ones.  Even our feelings can be addressed by examining our hearts with the aid of the Holy Spirit Who guides us into all truth.  Knowing God makes all things work together for our good is a decent start, yet examples from the Bible actually go further.  The death and resurrection of Jesus did not only work together for the glory of Jesus Christ, but for the good of all who trust in Him forever.

Romans 8:27-30 says, "Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 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. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."  This "working together for good" is connected with the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of born-again Christians.  Jesus makes intercession for saints (Christian believers) according to God's will, and we can be assured all things work together for good to those who love God.  We are those God knew before we knew Him, has predestined us to be conformed into the image of Jesus, and we are made His brethren--adopted into the family of God by faith.  Our future through Christ has been determined, and we are complete in Him.

Since God is working all things together for our good and His glory, we labour to do what pleases God.  The most fundamental work we can do, according to Jesus, is to believe on Him.  Regardless of how we feel or what happens (or seems to take forever to happen!), we can know God's good plans and purposes are being brought to fruition.  A thing that seems bad in itself, when coupled in context with good purpose, is acceptable to us--like the necessary incision of a surgeon who aims to cut out all the cancer.  Realising God and His ways and thoughts are above ours brings us to a place of contentment and rest in Him, even when we do not understand why God has allowed something or how to respond to it.  Praise the LORD He makes all things work together for good to those who love God, and may we be numbered among those who love Him because He is good.