During his homily yesterday, my pastor offered a commentary regarding this passage that was a true "epiphany" for me.
Often, I think this passage is misinterpreted to mean that "good things happen to us when we love God".
Some relate this verse to "All things happen for a reason".
What my pastor stressed, in sharing his thoughts, and what I had NOT paid much attention to before now, is the word "ALL". "We know that ALL things..."
"This means", said my pastor, "the joys AND the sufferings...the good times AND the trials....the feel-good days AND the sorrows and challenges....ALL things work together for good".
Perhaps it's just me, small, imperfect, finite, and not always the sharpest tack in the tool shed...but I had never considered it quite that way.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
It goes right along with the "Redemptive Suffering" that we discussed last week on this blog.
ALL things work for good for those who love God.
Without Christ, without His Sacrifice, without His Redeeming Grace, our bad days are just that: BAD DAYS.
But Romans 8:28 offers a whole new outlook on that, doesn't it?
Trusting in God's Word means that even our "bad days" are, for those of us who love God, "good days".
Each challenge, each trial, each sorrow, each test, each suffering, is working WITH each joy, each success, each adventure, each happy moment, and each celebration...ALL things...together...work for the GOOD.
I hope this thought brings you comfort, as it did me.
