Day 45 - Romans

To me, Romans is the thickest of all Paul's letters and maybe all New Testament books.  It's one of those books of the Bible you need to read a few times to really get an understanding of it all.  It takes a while to sink in.  There are so many memorable verses and important passages that followers of Jesus cherish in Romans.  The one that sticks out to me is one you might know:

"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

I remember going through a particularly rough patch as a teenager.  My daddy was traveling quite a bit at the time, and my older brother was long gone to college.  It was just my mama and me.  I don't really know what the rough patch was all about, but I'm sure it was about some girl, some teacher or some coach.  But I vividly remember my mama teaching me this verse.  I remember her saying that when she was going through tough times she remembered Romans 8:28.

Romans is key in shaping our theology of who Christ is and how to live that out, and this single verse is vitally important in helping us understand who God is.  He is working for the good.  In all things.  Of those who love Him.  So, this passage has some important points to make sure we understand it right.

• In all things.  No matter how bad things are, God is working.  Sometimes it's hard to see the light in the darkness, but God is moving, molding, shaping and working.  It doesn't matter how bleak it all seems.  God is there.
• He's working for good.  God's not working to judge you or thwart you.  God's not plotting your destruction.  God's working to make good come out of every situation.  Please understand two things about this:  1)  That doesn't mean that everything that happens IS good.  Sometimes life happens...and it stinks.  Sometimes we run into a string of bad luck.  God's working for good to come out of it, but that doesn't mean that it is good at the time.  2)  This also doesn't mean that God is causing all this stuff to happen so that he can work good.  God isn't scheming a master plan to cause bad things to happen to you so he can be revealed; rather, He's scheming to show you His glory in the midst of our broken world.  There's a big difference.
• This is for those that love him.  There's no promise that God is working good for those that don't.  Now, we know that God loves all people and that He is drawing all people to him.  It's not like God's plotting evil for those that don't love him.  He's trying to draw them into a relationship with him.  However, those that love him are getting special attention.  He's working for their good.

I don't know what you are facing, but I want to tell you to simply focus on loving Him and know that He is working for good.  It may be flat awful right now, but your Creator is moving and working, scheming and trying to bring about good in a situation that seems pretty bleak.  That's good news to me.