There was a king in Africa who had a faithful servant with a positive attitude about everything that occurred in life. Whether it was good or bad he would always remark, “This is good.”
One day the king and his servant were out on a hunting expedition. The servant would load and prepare the guns for the king. The servant had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his servant, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the servant remarked as usual, "This is good!"
Angrily the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About three years later, the king was hunting in an area unaware of the cannibals around him. The cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his servant. He went immediately to the jail to speak with him.
"You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the servant all that had just happened. "And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his servant replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent you to jail for three years?"
"Because if I had not been in jail, I would have been with you. And I am whole. This is good"
Today I want us to study Romans 8:28. It is a very well known scripture. It is a scripture often quoted to relieve the suffering that someone is going through. But it is also a scripture that may be hard to understand in the midst of our struggles. Let’s read Romans 8:28. “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.”
The Bible is filled with stories of people who faced hardships in their lives, like Job who lost everything in order for others to be taught a lesson.
In the Old Testament, we are told the story of a young boy named Joseph. He had dreams of the day coming when his older brothers, his mother, and his father would bow before him. His father was offended. His brothers were jealous. They concocted a plan to get rid of him. It began as a plan to murder him. It ended as a plan to sell him into slavery. One must wonder if Joseph thought this was a good thing that was happening to him. Probably not. Joseph ended up in Egypt in the house of a Pharaoh official named Potiphar.
While there, things went well for Joseph. He became a house slave. Everything he did was successful. Joseph became Potiphar’s attendant. He was placed in charge of the household and all that Potiphar owned. Potiphar’s wealth grew through the blessing of Joseph. For Joseph, this was good.
One-day Potiphar’s wife became attracted to Joseph. She was constantly trying to seduce him. He refused because he knew it would be a sin against God and a betrayal of trust that his master had placed in his hands. So she set him up and screamed attempted rape. Joseph, although innocent, was thrown into prison. Do you think he thought, “This is good?”
While in prison, Joseph met two members of the Pharaoh’s staff who had also been imprisoned; his chief cupbearer and his chief baker. Each had a dream that Joseph interpreted. The chief cupbearer would be restored to his position. The chief baker would be executed. Joseph asked the cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh so he could be released. A glimmer of hope was there and this was good.
But Joseph was forgotten for two years. One must wonder how many times did he think during those two years “This is good.”
After two years had passed, the Pharaoh began having dreams that disturbed him. None of his wise men could interpret the dreams. It was then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph. So he told the Pharaoh about him. The Pharaoh sent for Joseph and he interpreted his dreams. Joseph warned of an upcoming famine and the steps necessary to survive. The Pharaoh was so impressed that he placed Joseph second in command of all of Egypt. This was good. And it was because of this that Joseph would be able to save his brothers and his father through the famine.
The roller coaster ride that Joseph experienced was necessary for God’s purpose to be accomplished. He had to be sold into slavery to save his brothers who would become the founding fathers of Israel. It was necessary for him to be placed in prison for him to meet the right person to accomplish his rise to the most elevated position a person could obtain in Egypt. Through all that he experienced God working everything together for the good. Joseph was accomplishing the purpose of his calling.
Now let’s examine the life of another hero of our faith. His story is found in the New Testament. His name is Paul. He was a pureblooded citizen of Israel. A member of the tribe of Benjamin. He considered himself a real Hebrew. He was a Pharisee and thus obeyed the law without fault. He was zealous for his beliefs, so much so he attempted to help destroy the church. As for his life, he could boast, “This is good.”
Then he met Jesus after Jesus had been resurrected. His entire life changed. He would describe his life to the church in Corinth as this. 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 “Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”
Not the joyous life that he had as a Pharisee. Do you think he walked around with a smile on his face, praising God, and declaring, “This is good” as he suffered? Probably not. But he was fulfilling his purpose according to the calling that God had placed on his life.
He would begin six churches. He would be credited for writing 14 books of the Bible. He is responsible for most modern theology based on his writings. Through his teaching, we have a clearer understanding of redemption and salvation. He spent 6 years of his life in prison. Others abandoned him as the end of his life neared. He was eventually beheaded in Rome.
“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.” Like Joseph and Paul there are times when I am going through a situation in life and I wonder, “How is this working together for my good?” I imagine you have been there also. Let’s examine this verse by dissecting it and perhaps wrapping our understanding and faith around it.
1) And we know.
The word “know” means to learn by instruction. We know how to read and to write because someone taught us. Think about your job. How did you learn to do it? Chances are someone taught you the basics that you needed to begin and you built on that knowledge. You may even have a manual to refer to so that you can become more efficient at what you do.
Some knowledge comes through repetition. I spent the first five years selling bread without a pocket calculator. I was able to do math phenomenally fast due to repetition. When I finally got one, I seldom used it. To this day, I challenge anyone to a math quiz. (Simple math. Not Algebra) I have retained the knowledge of doing math through years of repetition.
Some knowledge comes through experiences. When learning to ride a bike, you fall and try until you have conquered that inability to ride. Of course, if you check with my family I still haven’t learned how to ride a bike.
Some times knowledge comes through sufferings and tragedies. We gain knowledge of the pain of losing a loved one. We gain knowledge of the hurt associated with losing our possessions through circumstances. We may find our comfort gone.
But through this, we can know. We can know how to handle life and problems because we have the written word of God. It instructs and equips us for living. It’s there for us to read.
We can know how to live life through repetition. We become disciplined in reading the word and in coming to church to hear God’s word. We discipline ourselves to live life led by the Spirit rather than the flesh. And in doing so, following Jesus becomes second nature.
We can know how to pick ourselves up after experiencing a fall in life. We can cry with others in their grief since we also have suffered. We can share words of encouragement based on our knowledge of God.
2) That God causes everything
I have a friend who believes God is not in control of the world. He believes that God has given this world to Satan to do as he pleases. It is his way of handling injustice that exists all around us. He has made Satan equal with God. However, look at Proverbs 15:3 “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.”
When you read the Book of Job, you discover Satan coming before God with a request. First, he wants to take all of Job’s possessions and family. God agrees to allow him to do so. Satan releases marauders on him, comets from the sky, and windstorms. Later God would give Satan permission to cover Job’s body with sores. In allowing it to happen, God caused it. There are two choices before us when an event is about to happen. We can either prevent it from happening or allow it to happen thus causing it to happen.
Now understand me. I am not blaming God. When people ask me “Why did God allow this to happen?” my reply is “Sin.” This is not the world God created. This is the world that sin created. Mankind has freedom of choice. They can choose to do good or evil. God allows that choice with some horrifying circumstances at times. Storms and earthquakes are reminders of how sin corrupted the perfect environment created by God. But none the less He is in control.
3) To work together for the good.
We saw an example of this with the life of Joseph. He even told his brothers when they discovered who he was “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” While
Joseph was on his roller coaster ride he probably could not see how any of it was beneficial. It was only after the ride had finished that he could see the results.
We read in the Book of Acts the birth of the church in Jerusalem. They are selling their possessions to meet the needs of other believers. They are meeting together daily in the temple courts. They are sharing their meals with each other. Miracles are taking place.
But suddenly things went bad. Persecution came against them in the form of the Jewish hierarchy. They were beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and even executed. Jerusalem was not the place to be if you were a Christian. So they fled. Seemed like a bad time for the church. But read Acts 8:4 “But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.”
Because the persecution of the church took place, the Gospel of Jesus Christ grew. It was necessary.
4) Of those who love God.
There is a catch. We have to love God to be assured that whatever is taking place in our lives is ultimately leading to good results.
For those with children let me give you an example. God placed those children in your hands to take care of until they reached adulthood. You were responsible for their welfare by God and the government. However, once they became adults they could make their own decisions. You were no longer responsible. As long as they were in your hands, you could provide that which was good for them.
The same is true with God. If we are living on our own, apart from him spiritually, then we are on our own. If we desire the goodness of God then we must show our love for him. How do we do that?
John 14:21 “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
The Jews had 612 manufactured commandments, each law based on each letter on the ten commandments. There was an additional 357 commandments from the first five books of the Old Testament. And another 255 based on the teachings of the prophets. Some Pharisees came to Jesus and asked which of these 1224 commandments were most important. He answered in Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
If we love God, we will love him with all of our emotions, with all of our spirit, and with all of our thoughts. And we will love those around us with respect and a desire to meet their needs.
5) And are called according to his purpose for them.
We are invited to be in agreement with his plan for us. As long as we are in agreement with his plan, we have the comfort of knowing that all things are working together for our good. The problem arises when we don’t particularly like his plan. It is our selfish nature at work that causes the problem.
In Romans 9, Paul is addressing the argument of God creating us to be what He has discerned us to be. Their argument was against God not allowing them to choose their own fate. Paul answered in verses 20-21 “No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?”
God hasn’t made any of us to be garbage receptacles. But not all of us are beautifully decorated either. When we discover the ministry that we have been invited to participate in, we will find that all things are working according to his plan.
So remember that we can gain the knowledge that assures us that God is in control of every aspect of our lives. And that he being in control assures us of good results even in rough times. The only requirement is that we obey him and walk in agreement with his plan for our lives. This is good.
