We are thinking in this series that of all people, believers should always be looking to find a redemptive angle on circumstances that are filled with gloom. It is not that we have pat answers. It is not that we have stoic, ‘spiritual’ responses up our sleeves. The simple fact is, the habit of the faithful down the centuries has been to see difficult circumstances through the lens of God’s big redemptive plan. Even amidst circumstances of sorrow, we sorrow not as those that have not hope. Even whilst we are expressing empathy (Rom 12.5), we do so as those who have an eager expectation of future glory (Rom 8.18-19).
We have thought so far, that one of the redemptive truths that we have had pressed on us at this time, is to love our neighbour. This is a man-ward focussed truth. This week I want to focus on an even grander truth and one that is God-ward. Love your neighbour focusses on what we should do. This next focusses on what God is doing.
And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God…
Romans 8.28.
As the effects of COVID-19 began to manifest itself in our communities, it was a wonderful thing to be able to lean back on Romans 8.28 and know that despite the circumstances, God was still working everything together for good. Throughout the past few months, as we have each encountered our own challenges and heard of those who have been grieving, we have been able to hold fast to this truth.
Good in the Past
Romans 8.28 does not say that all things that have happened are good. It was not a good day for instance, when we realised we could no longer break-bread together. Rather, for those that love God, Paul is saying that whether good or bad things happen, all of them ultimately work together for our ultimate good.
If we needed any assurance that God can use the ‘things’ of the past ‘for good’ just look at some of the things he has been doing in the past. He has been predestining, calling and justifying us (Rom 8.30). The believer’s past then is less defined by being born in sin or by being a sinner – but by becoming a child of God.
Even though these recent months contain difficult experiences and struggles, the gist of your story and mine is like those in scripture. Like Joseph, like Judah, like David, we realise that individual moments of evil (in the broadest sense of that word), do not take away from the fact that on balance, things are good. Recall brother Phil Coe’s message at the beginning of the pandemic, God is good, all the time – all the time, God is good.
Good in the Present
It is remarkable that even in the present drama, we have observed good things. Neighbourhoods have rallied round. Many families have had more quality time. Some have been able to slow down and we have all had occasion for being thankful for things we so often take for granted.
At the same time, the present is perhaps the hardest point at which to see good in, if things are tough. Time has a way of allowing us to see that difficult circumstances in the past – did have some good in them. Faith has a way of allowing us to hope that the future also, will have some good in it. But I’ve had many a bed time chat with our children over these last few months where they could not see past the present. Romans 8.28 is profound yet it is simple enough for even our children to have their hearts affected by it. The first part at least – is straightforward. All – not most or some – all things work together for good. And if we were in any doubt about it, just look at the good things God has for us in the here-and-now
- A loving Father (8.15)
- A serving Spirit (8.26)
- An intercessory Saviour (8.34)
Even amid circumstances where we barely know what to think or pray, the entire God-head is there for us. How wonderful, how good that is.
Good in the Future
Our immediate future is still cloudy if we speak in terms of earth. 2020 is shaping up to be quite an historical year. But ‘all things work together for good’ helps us keep the future in perspective. We might be separated from each other, but Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from God’s love. This is copper-bottomed, 100% certain. If he’s honest, the average man gazes down into the future with complete uncertainty. You and I, even if troubled by fear clouds from time-to-time, can at least see the light on the horizon. That light is not the triumphal human spirit, it is not a political ideology. It is Christ himself.
George Matheson understood this – frankly, far more than I do. He became blind in his 20’s and as a result was deprived of the woman he had fallen in love with. Out of this deep valley of suffering he wrote:
O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
George Matheson’s fiancé might have let him go, but he knew that God wouldn’t.
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.
What wonderful words these are. As we said at the beginning, we need to avoid pat answers. Sometimes when someone is suffering, it is better to just listen. But in the silence, God’s Word still speaks to us its truth to us. There is not a single thing that is irredeemable in Gods purposes. Everything, all things work together for good.
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