"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE FACING CRISIS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE FACING CRISIS"

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose" NKJV.

And, then, here it is in the NLT version.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. Paul was not specifically writing this to people who were going through or facing a crisis. But, it's a truth from God that when you are going through a crisis it is of tremendous and constant comfort to the troubled soul.

2. Let's break this verse down bit by bit, and understand, and enjoy it's awesome truth, about our wonderful God and Savior.

(1) This is something that Paul stated he knew, and was in reality saying the Roman believers knew also. The word know here, means, to see, behold, to discern, to observe, to experience, to understand, and to cherish.

(2) That all things work together for good. Please notice it is not of course saying that all things are good, but rather that all of the things that can come along into our lives are under God's careful and watchful and purposeful eye and control. The NLT says, "That God causes everything to work together for the good etc, " So, God is over all of the things that happen to us, the things that are good, the things that we call bad, the things that are troubling, the things that are a blessing.

(3) What does God do with the "all things " the things that may be part of the crisis that you are facing right now, at this very time in your life? God's Word says, that they "work together for the good of those those that love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. Again, this is not saying all things are good, that's of course absurd.

There is so much heartache, and trouble, that one could not catalog all the hurtful and crisis producing things if they tried. But, what is true, is that God is "causing everything to work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them"

(4) I think it's important here to mention, that the verse does not say that God actually shows us how all things work together for good, rather He just says they are working together for good, our good, your good etc.

And it's important to note also, that this statement, this promise if you will, is not for everyone, but rather it's for those who "love the Lord", and it's for those who are "called according to His purpose" In other words, very simply, this is for you if you have come to faith in and through Jesus Christ. It's not for every person in the world, but it's for God's children, those who love HIm.

(5) May I say, that it's been my experience, that this verse never ceases to bring comfort to the soul in crisis if believed and taken to heart. I'm certain You have heard it, but not certain you have ever taken the time to really ponder it, if not, please take a moment and do so. Let God minister His comfort to you, this very day.

(6) Finally, this verse does not tell us that God is going to show us how all things work together for our good, but of course they do. God does not normally show us how, but we often begin to see how as time passes, and the Lord gets us through the crisis.

Which by the way, our faithful God does, He is the best crisis manager in the entire universe, and He is Your loving Father, and You are His purchased child. But, very often, as time does pass, we do begin to see that what God was doing through the things that made up the crisis that we were in. Patience, and faith are important to enjoy the comfort of this truth from our God who cannot lie.

A prayer:

Father, we give You thanks today for this wonderful truth from Your wonderful and truthful Word. What a comfort it is. We pray for those reading this devotional, that they would be encouraged and find hope and comfort from this verse, this very Word of God. We don't as it's been said, live on explanations, but rather on promises, and this is one of the all time great promises that is a pillow for our weary souls to rest on day by day, and situation by situation. Please help us with patience and faith in Your Word.
We love You Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.