Good Twists and Bad Turns

Romans 8:28 says, “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.”

Have you ever wondered how good can come from bad?

How is it that God makes ALL things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them? And why does he do it?

Let’s imagine that a small country church was bequeathed a million dollars. This sizable donation was a great thing. The little church wrestled with the question of how to use this tremendous windfall.

As sometimes happens in churches, the congregation of rather self-centered human beings couldn’t agree on what to do with all that money. When people can’t agree, they tend to run for safer ground. Angry and irritated church members split the church into three camps; save, spend, and give it away. Each ran to form a new little church that agreed with their opinion on the money’s use. They were much more comfortable in their agreeable and cooperative camps. But a three-way church split over money was a bad thing, right?

But then a miracle happened as the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way, and the church members were convicted of their sinful hearts, repented, and came back together in extraordinary harmony and unity. Unity born out of repentance is such a good thing!

But then something shocking occurred; it was discovered that while the infighting was transpiring, one of the church elders had embezzled the million dollars. That wasn’t just bad; it was a vastly terrible thing!

The elder was convicted of the crime, but now came a twist no one was expecting; while in prison, the once godly elder became personally convicted of his sin, repented, and, in the process, led ten other inmates to Christ. That was a very, very, very good thing! Everyone forgot about the long-gone million.

You get the point. From our perspective, it is hard to determine what is for the good and what isn’t.

This is just how life is- no one gets out of this world without twists and turns. We can all attest that many good twists and bad turns have occurred in our life stories. Some twists are so good that we can jump for joy, but some turns seem to generate tremendous disappointment, hurt, and sorrow.

But here is a truth we must see, even though there are many twists and turns to everyone’s story; our God sees, knows, and is sovereign over them all, and his love for us is always front and center.

I find it challenging to look at something in my life that is hard, something that seems disappointing or discouraging, and trust that God will somehow miraculously turn it for the good and his purpose. Am I alone in this? I suspect not. But this is precisely what I must do. As I turn and focus on Jesus and remember his deep love for me, I can be assured that, indeed, all things work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

I must remember that what seems so wrong to me can be used for good in God’s unlimited love and grace-infused economy! God’s ocean of love for us trumps all the bad the enemy can stir up and throw our way. You see, God is for us and not against us. His word tells us, “His eyes move to and fro and throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose hearts are completely his.”

The Bible states in plain English (or should I say Greek) that we can be assured that all things DO work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. One of the great benefits of a relationship with Jesus is the knowledge that our Abba Father is sovereign, is always for us, and loves us deeply. We can, with great assurance, surrender life’s good twists and bad turns to our loving and all-knowing God.

Even though amid life’s hard turns, it is challenging to see the truth of God’s word, trusting his word as truth is imperative for you and me as believers. Putting on the belt of truth and taking the sword of the Spirit is a powerful stance. Depending on the fact that God is good, that he is our Abba Father, that we are his children, and that his love is deep, wide, high, and long is our comfort and anchor when the storms of life are swirling around. This is why we must know, believe and trust what the truth in God’s word says. We must lean all our weight on this glorious truth.

Our finite view is just that…finite. We can only see where we presently are in time and space, but here is some reassuring news, our infinite, loving God isn’t limited in any way by time, space, or resources. And God’s word tells us that when we keep our eyes on the unlimited One, perfect peace is our reward. We can be assured that he will use every good twist and bad turn of life for the good of those of us who love him and are called according to his purpose.

Hey Friend- if you are looking for another source of devotional material, why not try out my 11-day devotional on YOUVERSION.