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Together is Key
And we know that for those who love God all things work for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Did you notice something missing from the verse? Obviously I am trying to prove a point, but a lot of times we do this unintentionally. More times than not, we skip over key words or even exclude them from our theology.
The missing word: Together.
Now let’s read it again.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28 (ESV)
When we skim over these key words, we created a false idea of who God really is. The enemy will then use these misconceptions as an opportunity to insert doubt and to vandalize our faith. When these false-narratives become full-blown thinking patterns, we begin asking things like, “How can a good God allow bad things to happen?” Or even more dangerously, we begin to question the integrity of God and His Word.
Romans 8:28 is not telling us that all things are good. It’s not telling us that all things will work out for good. The promise is simple: All things work TOGETHER for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
Consider cake ingredients: baking powder, baking soda, butter, eggs, flour, milk, salt, sugar, etc.
Now imagine having all of these individual ingredients laid out separately on a dessert buffet. It wouldn't be very appetizing, would it? Something special, however, happens when these ingredients are mixed together at the right consistency and put in the oven.
The same is true with our lives. Not everything that happens to us is good, in and of itself. However, when the master-chef takes the good, the bad, the ugly, and the uncomfortable (we are going to say that is the oven temperature for the sake of this illustration) and puts it all together, the final product is something far better than you could have imagined.
God is working. Trust the process and hold on to His promises.
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Scripture
About this Plan
Explore the question, "How can God be good but still allow evil to happen," in this study of Romans 8:28. Discover if pain and suffering are contradictory to His Word, and if all things really do work together for good. This 4 day study should help you grasp a better understanding of this popular Bible verse and its true meaning.
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