Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

March 6, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO MAKE THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD (part 1)

 

ROMANS 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

“And we know”

Do we really? If we know this, why do we struggle so much with this, and then act so surprised when God actually does what He claimed. This verse starts with the reminder that the things we are getting ready to here are things that we should already know. God has already proven it. He has proven it over and over again.

“All things”

All means all. It means that every experience in our life, good or bad, God is using. The verse does not say that all things are enjoyable, agreeable, or encouraging. The verse just says that all things work together.

“Work together”

It is encouraging to hear that all those things are “working”. It means that there is a reason and a purpose for all things. They’re not just wasted. It is not just meaningless. It is “working”. It’s doing something. But the word together explains a lot. It means that when you put all of those “things” together, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the pretty; they all form one purpose for God. Some of the things on their own would not accomplish very much, but when they are combined with the rest of the things, they produce God‘s purpose. You and I like the good things, and we dislike the bad things, but if we did not have both, God would not be able to do in our lives what He purposes to do.

“For good”

If you took the average recipe for a cake, It would have a list of ingredients. Some of those ingredients would be pretty tasty by themselves, but some of them would be disgusting by themselves. But when you put them all together and bake it, it turns out really good. That is what God does with the circumstances, and experiences of our life. He blends them altogether and then puts us through the baking process. The Bible calls it being “tried with fire”. When God is done, He produces a wonderful product. He brings us forth “as gold”.

We will discuss the rest in the next devotion, but I would like to remind you of something. Maybe right now you are enjoying one of the “sweet” ingredients. Maybe right now you are enduring a “sour” ingredient. Just wait till God is done. It will be good.