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Worshiping God Even in the Hard Times
Romans 8:28
I am quite a regular at Starbucks (as well as other coffee houses in town). I
recently had a conversation with a young lady at there. She knew me from the
fact that I am always there, and she confided in me that it is very difficult to
believe in God when terrible things happen. Her best friend growing up was just
killed in a car accident—he was young and probably felt impervious to harm,
playing on the back of a pick-up truck that took a sudden turn and tossed him.
What do you do with that? What can God do with that?
I remember several years ago getting a call in the middle of the night. It was
the police, telling me that my sister’s husband had been in a car accident. They
were newlyweds, he having just come back from the first Gulf War. Here were two
twenty-somethings looking forward to a life of fun and joy together…when it was
all halted by a stupid decision to drink and drive.
He was in a coma for months and when he came out of it he was brain-damaged. The
witty, charismatic young man was now an invalid and a simpleton. And my 21-year
old sister was crushed. What do you do with that? What does God do with that?
If you are not aware of it, life sometimes does not turn out the way we think.
We plan to graduate high school, then we must know what we will major in, but
that rarely is what we graduate with. We date someone and think that this is the
one, and then we break up…guess not. We graduate, thinking we know what we will
do with a career, but then we end up doing something completely different. And
on and on it goes.
I remember in college, falling in love (or so I thought) for the first time. She
was a total babe. I mean capital B babe. I really liked going to parties with
her—it made me feel so significant to be dating such a hotty. But you know what
happened? She dumped me. And to make matters worse, she did it at the SAME TIME
that my mom and dad divorced. I was in a tailspin—I wondered, “Does love even
exist?” What do you do with that? What does God do with that?
One night last year, my wife was gone out of town and my kids were staying at
the grandparents. So, it was an opportunity again for me to be a bachelor. And
like any bachelor alone on a weekend night, I did what many of us do. I rented a
movie.
Since my wife doesn’t like sci-fi flicks, this was my chance. I went to the
video store and stared at endless rows of boxes. I think there will be a day
when I will be very old, and my grandchildren will sit on my lap and I’ll tell
them stories—“I remember when we had to go to a video store, and we’d stare at
all these boxes—yes boxes on shelves!—of movie after movie. That’s how we had to
entertain ourselves in my day!”
 Anyway,
I found one of those boxes that seemed like it could be a good
aliens-invade-earth tale. I rented Signs. I did not know who M. Night Syamalan
was, that he had directed other movies that had been highly acclaimed. I just
wanted a sci-fi thriller. What I got was a lesson in faith. Mel Gibson plays the
role of Graham Hess, a former pastor who has lost his faith in God due to a
terrible accident in which he lost his wife. The invasion of space creatures
makes him face his own faith in surprising ways. Shyamalan takes an old, worn
out premise (space invaders) and paints a remarkable portrait of the struggle of
faith.
In one scene in the movie, Graham, his brother Merrill, and Graham’s two
children are watching the TV reports of 14 brightly-lit Alien crafts hovering
over Mexico City.
It grows late, the children fall asleep as the two brothers continue to watch
the amazing events on their television screen. Merrill turns to Graham and asks
if he thinks it is the end of the world. Graham says that he thinks it is.
Merrill asks for some words of comfort from the former pastor. Listen to his
words:
 
“People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky,
group number one sees it as more than luck, more than a coincidence, they see it
as a sign—evidence that there is someone up there watching out for them. Group
number two sees it as just pure luck, a happy turn of chance. I’m sure the
people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very
suspicious way. For them, the situation isn’t 50-50—could be bad, could be good.
But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they are on their own. And that
fills them with fear. Yea, there are those people.”
“But there are a whole lot of people in the group number one. When they see
those 14 lights, they’re looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that
whatever’s going to happen, there’ll be someone there to help them. And that
fills them with hope.”
“See, what you have to ask yourself is, What kind of person are you? Are you the
kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get
lucky? Or, look at the question this way—Is it possible that there are no
coincidences?”
What kind of person are you?
What we do not know can either paralyze us or free us. If we feel that we are on
our own, that all is mere luck or chance, what we do not know may inevitably
grow fear within us. However, if we feel that someone is watching out for us, we
can rest that we do not need to know everything, including what will happen next
in our lives.
What I mean is this: Two men died on the same day a few weeks ago, Johnny Cash
and John Ritter. One lived a long life of notoriety and fame—recognized as one
of the most influential artist of his time, Johnny Cash was featured on the
covers of most major news magazines (Time, Newsweek) as well as the trendy
Rolling Stone. The other’s life was cut short by a heart problem that they say
is almost impossible to detect or prevent—the tragedy of John Ritter’s death
tugged at many heartstrings, because it seemed so sudden and left his young
family numb with shock.
I do not know which path my life may end up taking—Cash or Ritter, or somewhere
in between. And that realization may make us stop and shudder in fear. We may be
scared to death of each and every moment—we may even throw our hands up and
admit that we do not even know what to pray! And that is exactly what our
passage in Romans tells us.
A couple of verses earlier in this chapter, we read these words: “We do not know
what we ought to pray for…” (Romans 8:26).
In contrast with what we do not know, verse 28 points out what we do know. We
may not know what to pray for, but… “we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Sure, there is a whole lot that I do not know or understand in life. But this I
know: God is at work in it all. That is the authentic Christian life. No easy
answers to all of life’s problems, no quick fixes. But God is there. And he is
active.
There are two groups of people. One group sees no providence, no oversight by
God—all is chance. The other group grasps that God is there, active in all
things. And they really believe it and are empowered to live boldly and
persevere even the worst hardships because they know that there is somebody
watching over them working everything for the good.
1. In
all things God works for
the good.
The passage is claiming something remarkable. God works for the good in all
things. Not all good things. It is “all things”—including all the bad things! In
fact, the whole context before and after Romans 8:28 is painful. That's why
Romans 8:28 is here.
We need encouragement and hope because before and after this verse, we see that
life can be very hard!
-Verse
17 says we will be glorified with Christ if we suffer with him.
-Verse
18 says that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing
to the glory that will be revealed to us.
-Verse
20 says that the creation—including us—is subjected to frustration.
-Verse
21 says that creation is in bondage to decay.
-Verse
23 says that even Spirit-filled Christians groan with the fallen
creation awaiting our adoption, the redemption of our weak and sick and
dying bodies.
-Verse
24 says we have been saved “in hope” and you can't see hope, otherwise
it wouldn't be hope—so most of our salvation is invisible and still in the
future. No wonder we groan!
-Verse
35 says we may experience trouble and hardship and persecution and
famine and nakedness and danger and sword.
And in the middle of all this, to give us strength and hope and courage, verse
28 says, Yes, all this, is true! AND "We know that all things—all this suffering
and frustration and bondage to decay and groaning and trouble and hardship and
persecution and famine and danger—all these things work together for good for
those who love God and are called according to his purpose."
Ever since Adam fell into sin, God has been taking our continued failures and
our continuing hardships and he has been working them into good, to serve his
loving intentions. There is not one single thing that falls out of the scope of
“all things.” There is never a moment, no matter how horrific, in which God is
not there. Never a time when we can wonder, “Is this a moment that God has
abandoned me? Have I stepped out of his ability to care for me, to watch over
me?”
God’s raw material for making good has always included evil. For all things
includes evil! He is at WORK even in the horrible things that people do.
2. In all things God
works for the good.
Here is the perfect biblical example that shows that God works for the good,
even in the things that are definitely not good.
In Genesis, we read that Joseph’s brothers committed a horrible sin in that they
sold Joseph into slavery. They left him for dead in the hands of the Egyptians.
After several amazing events in his life, Joseph actually finds himself in a
position of authority in which he is able to make a plan for surviving a coming
famine and save the lives of many people. Joseph’s brothers come down to Egypt
to find relief from the famine, and meet their brother again for the first time
in years.
Look at what Joseph says to his treacherous brothers:
“As for you, you meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good in
order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Genesis
50:20)
The Hebrew construction is clear: The brothers meant it for evil. And at the
same time, in the same event, God meant it for good. Joseph, in prophetic
insight, nails the truth of our existence. Two intentions can guide the same
event—a human intention (“you meant it”) and a divine intention (“but God meant
it”). And, amazingly, even when humans mean to do something for evil (even
then!!!) God can mean the same event for the exact opposite moral purpose! “You
meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” Both evil and good can be
intended at two levels in the same event—the purpose of Joseph’s brothers was
murderous, but the purpose of God was life-giving!
This is what theologians call “compatiblism”—the
biblical teaching that human beings are totally responsible for their actions
(both good and bad), but that God is always active in those same actions to
bring about his good intentions. People have been debating for centuries whether
God is in control or if humans are in control (Divine sovereignty vs human free
will). The biblical answer is “yes.” Both are true, and they are “compatible.”
How they are compatible may be a mystery—and often times it is. But this is
where faith comes into play. I trust that God is always active in all events for
GOOD.
I’ve gotta tell you—all the hardship in my life has formed me into who I am
today. I have grown more mature, more spiritual, more wise because of the
difficulties that I have experienced. There is no way that I would have grown if
all I had all my life was the easy life. It is when we take the road of the
cross that we become more like Jesus.
Take a look at the cross for a moment—the people who hung Jesus Christ on the
cross meant it for evil. But God meant it for the ultimate good! In that one
event, we see both being true to the ultimate degree. There can be nothing more
evil than killing the absolutely innocent God-in-the-flesh! But it is that very
event that the salvation for many people is offered and assured!
Peter prays to God in Acts 4, affirming that the evil of human actions were
exactly what God would use for the good—
“Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you
anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should
happen.” (Acts
4:27-28)
They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good! God takes the raw material of
our evil intentions and makes good out of that… Only God could do that!
What are you facing today?
What uncertainties are overwhelming you?
What evil are you dealing with?
What frustrations are dragging you down?
The Bible does not say that all things are good—cancer and poverty and terrorism
are not good. We should always oppose evil and seek to further good in this
world.
But the point of this passage is that God may allow these things in our lives,
as evil as they may be, for a greater good.
3. In all things God works for the
good.
How could it be any other way? God is good.
And he has purposed to work all things for his children into good. Look at the
verse again: “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.”
This work that God is doing is for those who love God, for those who have been
called according to his purpose. In other words, it is for those we see in the
next two verses—“And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he
also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)
God calls people into a loving relationship with himself. And when that happens,
he purposes to do the ultimate good for them: he will see them all the way
through to glorification! He will take sinful, selfish, small people (that’s
me…and you too), and he justifies them in such a way that they will be able to
experience the glory of heaven in perfection. Only God can do that. And he has
purposed to do that for us, for those of us who have been called.
I love the way the Bible describes Christians in Romans 8:28. We are not
described as “those with the right theology,” or “those who can self-righteously
point out the sins of others,” or, “those who voted for the right people in the
last election,” or, “those who go to church on a regular basis,” or, “those who
celebrate Christmas and Easter.”
No, look at how we are described: “those who love God, who have been called
according to God’s purpose.”
We are identified by whom we love and by what God is doing in our lives. We are
identified by our love and by God’s grace to bring us into glory.
And those who love God are assured by this passage that God is at work in all
things for good. It is for all Christians that the apostle Paul can write, “For
I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will
perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians
1:6)
God has purposed and will always purpose to take all things and work them
together for good.
“People break down into two groups…what you have to ask yourself is, What
kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do
you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way—Is it
possible that there are no coincidences?”
Those who trust in Jesus Christ know that God is in control at all times.
They worship God even when they don’t know what He’s up to.
They are fearless, ready to persevere in trials; they are bold. For they realize
that life often is very difficult, and that we do not know a whole lot. But this
they do know: In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose.
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