“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 BSB
“Who can wipe away the tears from broken dreams and wasted years… And tell the past to disappear? Oh let me tell you 'bout my Jesus…And all the wrong turns that you would…Go and undo if you could…Who can work it all for your good… Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus.” As I sang these words along with the praise band yesterday morning at church, I couldn’t help but cry. Looking over at my husband Larry, who was also singing as he held my hand, I silently said, “God you have been so good to us.” And truly He has. A little over three years ago, the Lord Himself arranged our meeting (at a 5k run of all things). We were both two very broken people whose life plans had not gone the way we had expected. But God. In a way that Larry and I will never be able to fully understand, He took all of our pain, all of our disappointments, our happy times and our unhappy ones, along with our ‘broken dreams and wasted years’ and worked all of them together for our good. Now, after celebrating our second wedding anniversary, Larry and I live to tell our story of God’s goodness and always add, “If He did it for us, He can do it for you.”
And you know, the promise of Romans 8:28 that tells us that “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him” and “who are called according to His purpose” is only for believers, contrary to popular belief. This is a truth that should bring comfort to all those who trust in Jesus Christ since we know that trouble will come upon everyone, both the believer and the non believer. But the believer knows that their pain and suffering will never be in vain since the Lord always takes the good, the bad and the downright ugly things we go through and causes them to work together for our good and for His glory, no matter how it may appear at the time. It may take years (as was in the case for Larry and me) but in God’s perfect timing and for God’s perfect purpose, believers “know” that they will see the promise come to pass if they continue to remain faithful.
So no matter what you’re going through today, keep an eternal perspective my friend. As someone who’s been through the fire many times and who’s always come out better on the other side, I will tell you that the promise that we “know” is true, won’t always diminish our pain in the moment, but it will fill us with joy and peace as we go through it.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of Romans 8:28 that should not only fill the hearts of every believer with joy, but should inspire them to boldly share the Gospel so that others would come to know the One who can make beauty out of ashes and redeem and restore the most broken of people. Help us to be a living testimony to Your goodness Lord. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment