And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
What a great verse, but what does it mean? Paul is writing to the Romans and trying to convey the message of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. However, through Paul’s writings to the Romans we are allowed to see how much God loves us. For instance, the Romans killed Jesus, but here Paul is offering them salvation by way of Jesus. How ironic. So what does Paul mean by the aforementioned verse? In laymen’s terms, Paul is saying that God works everything out to the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Does God have a purpose for all of us? Absolutely! God has a plan for each one of us. However, it is up to us to follow that plan. Many Christians struggle with knowing God’s will for their lives. I am often asked, by believers, “How will I know God’s plan for my life?” The answer is simple. Read the Bible. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” God didn’t just make a mistake with humanity and decide at the last minute to fix it. God knew the outcome in the beginning. He chose to continue with His creation because of His love for mankind. In doing so, He created a plan. The plan involved sacrificing His son so man might find freedom from death through Jesus’ shed blood and have eternal power over death through Jesus’ resurrection. Christians who don’t read the Bible are walking blindly through life. The Bible is our instruction manual. The Bible offers God’s plan to us as individuals. Furthermore, God designed the Bible to be a living Word. In other words, the Bible is designed to speak individually to its readers and be applicable to their unique situation. What other book does that?
We know God has a plan for our lives, but what about God’s love for us? If He loves us then why does He allow things to happen to us? John 9:1-3 says, “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” God allows things to happen in our lives so His glory might be revealed. Therefore, rejoice in sorrow, pain, long suffering, job loss, etc. Realize God has chosen you to receive His glory in your life. There is an old gospel hymn entitled, “Through It All.” One of its verses says, “If I never had a problem, how would I know that God could solve them, how would I know what faith in His word could do?” What a beautiful picture of this verse written in song. You may face trials in life, but count it as joy knowing God has chosen you to receive His glory through suffering.
Challenge:
Read the Bible once everyday until Sunday. Pray and ask God to show you His will for your life through His word.
This is how I SOMETIMES relate to my daughter's illness and disability. Adam and I both said to ourselves how wonderful we must be in God's eyes to for Him to chose us to be the parents of a child with special needs; a child that will always (in a sense) be a child; a child that will always need a close hand to watch over her! I rejoice over the fact HE CHOSE ME (a stinkin' ol' sinner)to be Kassidey's Mom!
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