Worked Together for Good
How God Redeems Every Circumstance for His Children
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28 has been a great blessing to me. When I’m in the valleys of life, I have confidence in God that whatever I’m going through will be redeemed and used for good because I am called by Him and love Him. This confidence that no pain or trouble in life is ever wasted helps strengthen me to persevere.
Throughout the Bible, we see God working through tribulation and pain, turning it into something good. The first example that comes to mind is the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. I encourage you to read Genesis 37-50 to see an example of Romans 8:28 in action.
Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. His older brothers were resentful of his preferential treatment—so much so that they dumped him in a well and sold him to traveling merchants. Those merchants then sold him in Egypt, where he became a slave in the house of Potiphar. Imagine going through that at the hands of your own brothers.
It would be enough to send anyone into deep despair and vengeful anger. But Joseph was called for a purpose. Soon, he rose to power in Potiphar’s house and life seemed better, until Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of a crime and had him thrown in jail. Life must have seemed completely unfair. Many would assume they were afflicted by God, or that there was no God at all. After all, how could God allow this to happen to Joseph? Was there no justice?
In time, however, Joseph found favor even in prison, eventually being placed in charge of the other inmates by the warden. But prison is still prison, and anyone would rather be free.
It was in this prison that men came to know how God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker were imprisoned and brought their dreams to Joseph. God gave him the understanding, and his interpretations proved right. The cupbearer was restored to his position and promised to tell Pharaoh about Joseph. But once free, the cupbearer didn’t speak a word of him. It was another devastating blow.
Joseph remained in prison for two more years until Pharaoh had a vexing dream that no one could interpret. At last, the cupbearer remembered Joseph. God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, along with the wisdom to guide Egypt through a coming famine. This was the moment. This was when all those years of pain, suffering, and lost time were redeemed and turned to good. Pharaoh made Joseph governor over all of Egypt. It was the most powerful nation of the day, making Joseph the most powerful man in the world under Pharaoh.
But even this was just the beginning of this Romans 8:28 redemption. The severe famine eventually brought Joseph’s family to Egypt to buy grain to survive. Joseph was reunited with his family, and they were brought to Egypt where they lived and prospered for many years.
This has always been one of my favorite accounts in the Bible. It shows how, even though we may walk through darkness and suffering, God has a plan and a purpose far greater than we could even hope or imagine. We may never see the full picture of how God uses what we go through, but we can be sure that He loves us. For His redeemed children, He is at work turning what was meant for evil into good, redeeming sorrow for joy, and working ALL things together for good!
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank You that you’ve called us all for a purpose! And we thank You for Your promise, that EVERYTHING is being worked together for good for those who love you. Help us to keep your promise in our hearts as we walk through the difficult seasons of life - when it seems like there’s no hope. Help us to remember how You’ve been faithful in the valleys of our lives and the lives of all those we read about in your Word. Bless us to always hold fast to You, remembering that Your promises are true and forever until the end of all time. Help us to live faithfully and fruitfully through all that we walk through, confident that ALL things are being worked together for good. We thank You and praise You and we pray all this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen!