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God doesn't work all things together for your (definition of) good

8/15/2013

3 Comments

 
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If God works all things together for my good, then why hasn't everything seemed that great? That's a question we end up asking after someone flippantly quotes Romans 8:28. I appreciate the encouragement, but I wonder if something is lost in translation.

Is it really good that my parents got divorced? Is it good that my childhood friend was sexually abused? Is it good that my buddy lost his job? Is it good that my brother's girlfriend died in a car wreck? Is it really good that all this bad stuff is happening?

When I was younger, I didn't know what this verse meant. But I knew it didn't mean everything was good.

What Good is God Working On?

After studying biblical languages and principles of biblical interpretation, I revisited Romans 8:28 as a graduate lecturer teaching Romans. As I followed chapter-by-chapter the development of Paul's thought, the meaning and implications of this verse materialized clearly.

In the broader context, Romans 8:28 is returning to the same idea introduced at the beginning of this section in Romans 5. Much of what we find in the latter half of Romans 8 (about the certainty of justification, the internal experience of God's love, and the sufferings of this life) mirrors the content from the first half of Romans 5. Specifically in Romans 5:3-4 Paul encourages people to celebrate difficult circumstances in life. He says, "Celebrate the good parts of life's troubles," sometimes translated "exult in tribulations." Why does that make sense? Because tough times force you to persevere, and perseverance produces character. Life's hardest moments to endure can produce good results in who we are.

The 11 verses preceding Romans 8:28 all talk about the pain and suffering of this broken world. How do we handle it and hold on to hope in the midst of it. Romans 8:28 is putting a capstone on Paul's advice. This world is corrupted (Romans 5:21) and bad things happen all the time, but God can form who you are in the worst of circumstances. People who love God and are chasing his call to be like Christ can redeem the most painful experiences. The brokenness of this world can be the birthplace of your character.
"The brokenness of this world can be the birthplace of your character."
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Stop Trying to Escape

Too often we pray for God to take away our suffering. We beg for difficult situations to be resolved. We even believe God's promise is a trouble-free life.

That path leads to disappointment in an unbiblical God. God isn't passionately orchestrating a pain-free life. He isn't rooting out problems so you can float through life. He is going after the sin in your life. His good purpose is to shape who you are. A good life isn't a trouble-free experience. It's resolute character in a shaky world.

Romans 8:29 continues this message from 8:28 when Paul reminds us of the original destiny for human beings: conformity to the image of God's son. We are to embody his faithfulness in a faithless world. Christ followers persevere when others shrink under pressure. We return evil with love. We give while other people just demand. We reenact the way of Jesus.

So let's stop trying to escape from problems in life. Trying times have the power to break us down so we can be built back up like Christ. Let's stop asking for tough times to end quickly when perseverance is what God wants. The easy life won't give us the good God is working toward. The good character God is forming in us takes shape in difficult circumstances.

So the next time you quote Romans 8:28 (or any other verse for that matter), make sure you start with a statement about the context. Then you won't be giving people false hope that God is working to solve all their problems and prevent future tragedies. You'll give them the truth. God is working to form people in the middle of a broken world with all its problems and unresolved pain. That's the good.

3 Comments
Michelle
8/16/2013 03:41:26 am

Amen!! This article really spoke to me. Thank you for writing brother:-)

Reply
Kris
5/18/2018 05:02:08 am

As a Christian who is now struggling to believe, I have a question I hope someone may answer. I've heard pastors say that the y believe the bible is very literal and that it is absolute truth. So they believe that God parted the Red Sea for Moses, Jonah was swallowed by a fish etc. So just to use Romans 8:28 as an example, things don't always work out for good to those who love God. And that verse is direct and to the point. And yet the go to excuse is almost always "that you have to understand the context", or you don't truly love God, or you have unconfessed sin in your life. Well I do love God and I don't have unconfessed sin in my life. So let's focus on the first excuse I mentioned. This seems more like relatvism to me than absolute truth. It reminds me of Bill Clinton when he said "it depends on what your definition of is, is". This really bothers me as a Christian that there are things in the bible that are very literal, and I hate to say this, aren't necessarily true, and yet pastors use the "you have to understand the context" excuse. However, the great stories of the Old Testament that I mentioned earlier they believe are true and not taken out of context or metaphors. Can someone please give me a straightforward answer? Thank you.

Reply
tersia van der merwe
9/5/2021 07:55:13 am

These things confused me as well even after I went to two courses on reading the Bible correct and then I came across Paul Penley's free hermeneutics course on you tube and man! once you are through that course you will have a full understanding. I cant wait to read every book in this way. I am looking forward to doing my bible study now. please do listen to go through that course.

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