I have lived long enough to know that God will work out all things for good in due time. I have also lived through several seasons of history that have been assigned apocalyptic endings, and frankly, none of them panned out as they were darkly predicted. No matter how challenging a situation might appear, God always has a plan for goodness, even when peril and demise are the prominent forecasts. To the best of our abilities, we need to do our part in each season of life to cooperate with God’s good plan, but that part is so small compared to what God promises to accomplish.

Much of the angst I see in followers of Jesus comes when we forget the elements of Romans 8:28. The verse gets tossed about too casually without closer examination. 

“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 has been used as a blanket statement that we try to apply to everyone in every circumstance. That is not what the verse says. There are two conditions linked to things working out – loving God and being called according to God’s purpose. Loving God requires a death to self and our selfish ambition. Living a called life means we are aligned with a purpose higher than self-interest. 

God is always causing things to work out for good. That is His redemptive nature. He is molding the events of human history to align with His will creating a Heavenly cause and effect to be demonstrated on Earth. There are times when it may not look like God is at work, but He is – always. These are the times when our most significant act of love for God will look and sound like trust – a trust that comes after we have done all we can and then choose to stand and wait in expectancy for God to move in astonishing ways.