God works it all together

"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." Romans 8:28 NLT

As I ran around the track for 48 hours where I once attended high school to complete the David Goggins 4x4x48 challenge for the OneSolePurpose project over the weekend, I couldn’t help but smile and even cry at times. So many memories flooded my mind as I finished lap after lap after lap. I had stood on the sidelines of the football field as part of the cheer team. I had run on the track as part of the track team. I had marched on the field as a member of the school band and I had walked across the stage all those years ago to claim my diploma. “You were so young Melissa,” I thought to myself over and over. “You had so much potential. You were going to become a pharmacist, have a couple kids, a lifelong marriage, a house, a few dogs and a nice retirement plan by now.” Well... let me tell you. I did get the kids, the dogs, and the house but my life certainly didn’t turn out the way I planned. Thankfully it turned out better than I could ever have imagined though. Not because I had the power to redeem my bad choices or fix the things I couldn’t control, but because God did.

You see, the Bible promises us “that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” That “everything” you can be sure includes the good, the bad, and the downright ugly too. It includes divorces, broken promises, going down wrong roads, and "everything" else you could possibly imagine. That's the reason this promise is something every believer should take great comfort in “knowing” without a doubt that God can take even the worst of our sins, failures, shortcomings and tragedies and work them "together" for our good if we place our trust in Him. Does that make you smile or what?

So, I don’t know what you’re going through today my friend, but I do know this. No matter how far you’ve strayed, how many bad decisions you might have made, or how much of a mess you think things are, the Lord can redeem and fix your life by causing "everything to work together" to make it better than you could ever imagine. He did it for me and He can do it for you if you simply put your trust in Him. 

Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for the promise of Romans 8:28. It's a promise that's gotten countless believers through the hardest times of their lives as they look to You amd trusted that You would work “everything” out for good despite how bleak the situation appeared. Lord, I pray if there’s someone reading this that hasn’t trusted you as their Savior that today would be the day they would make the choice to follow you and experience a fullness of life they never dreamed possible. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!