God works for good

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Rm 8:28)

If we want to see God’s nature and what things He would likely be doing in our lives, this verse shows that He is an ever-creating God, forming good things despite the bad. If things had to be perfect for God to create us into His image, then he wouldn’t have made us clay vessels which hold the treasure of His Spirit, His very nature (2 Cor 4:7). However, for us to be less than God doesn’t bother God as much as it bothers us. When we are near Him, we sense our “less-than”-ness. We are made of dust, and our weaknesses, mistakes, and sins are unlovely compared to the nature of God that lives within us.

If God’s business is to continually create good out of the life we live, then satan’s business is to create bad. Satan does not offer forgiveness when we repent, nor restoration when we hold out the olive branch to reconcile a relationship. He plants weeds in the Master’s garden (Mt 13:24-30). And so it takes faith to believe for the “good” God is working towards.

The struggle is not to have faith that we are good or perfect, but that God is. When times are not going well, our faith rests on His nature. Satan will accuse God of being “less-than” and urge us to take matters into our own hands, as if the Lord cannot be trusted. But quiet trust in the nature of God, and what His Word tells us about Him, is actually a mighty shield against satan’s fiery darts (Eph 6:16). Our enemy wants us to look inside our vessel and see ourselves, stripped of any goodness of God. God wants us to look at Him, within and without. Looking within at our own nature will eventually make us feel abandoned, or worse, that God has not been doing His job making us a better person . . . and that making our life work out for the good is not in His nature after all! Our enemy’s job is to get us to disbelieve scripture, and to break up our relationship with the Lord. God’s job is to fulfill His Word and to nurture our relationship, and yes, our very life.

Today, we must choose whom we will serve. If we believe that the Lord is working our life out for the good, then let us trust in His work and believe that He is good. All thoughts that are contrary to this are the seeds of weeds, planted by our enemy.