All Things

And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. ROMANS 8:28 AMP

This is a very familiar passage, one we usually quote when something unpalatable has happened. We see today's extract mostly in the light of encouragement in the face of misfortune. Is there any encouragement to take from today's extract?

Let's rearrange the words again in phases, starting from the end: 'for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose'. This is the control point. Everything in that verse falls on this truth. Your control point determines how you view life in the light of all that will come your way. If I take God as the only love of my life, if  his will is my only pursuit, if my heart is fixed on him alone, if I understand that I am not an accident, but a product of God's careful planning and strategy, I am assured that 'God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good'. God has already established his purpose and plan for me, long before even my parents were conceived. The Psalmist put it down so beautifully when he said in Psalm 139:16b: '.... all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.'

Do you see the link? What you see depends on who you know. Oh, you can do all the positive confessions, and claim all the promises in the Word of God; if God does not know you as his own, or you can't find your identity in God, it is likely that you may not enjoy the full benefits that have been promised. That is the first part of today's verse: 'And we know with great confidence'. You don't say things like that unless you are very sure of who you know, where you stand and where you are going.

As you read this again today, check your connection. Are you rightly connected? Does God know you as his own? Can you say with any sense of confidence and assurance that you know God is at work in your life? Are you even sure that you have not pledged your allegiance to self help measures, seeking to make it on your own terms? Review your life in the light of eternity. His time of favour is here.