We need to refrain from attributing (a gift from God) to the will of God that which is not true to Christ's revelation. God allows nature to take its course. God does not pull our strings as if we were puppets. There are consequences for what happens in this world. There have been martyrs for Christ who have suffered and died in terrible ways. Some people like to put the blame on God. Some people say because bad things happen to good people there is no God. There is a God who gave man the freedom to choose. The earth has its problems to deal with. God reaches down to man to give his nail scared hand. He does understand what we are going through. Sometimes people turn their backs on the very one who can help them.
ROMANS 8: 28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
"God works together unto good with respect to all things." "In everything God works for Good."
Paul did not call everything good; nor did he say that God wills all that takes place. Evil and tragedy are real in the world, and sometimes God's people suffer crushing sorrow. We must refrain from attributing to the will of God that which is not true to Christ's revelation of Him. God is not responsible for terrible crimes; sinful men are. They occur because God's will is not being done.
Two important Greek manuscripts have (God) as the subject, and many translators follow them. So it should read "He (God) works together unto good with respect to all things". The New American Standard Bible and the Revised Standard Version offer a translation that is theologically preferable and based on equally strong support in the earliest Bibles. "In everything God works for good".
When we suffer from life's cruel blows, it is not because God wills us to suffer. When we suffer, He suffers with us. He can turn our suffering toward the triumph of good. God does answer prayers. Sometimes we do not understand why God lets certain things happen. When our soul goes to heaven then we will understand.
"Those who are called" is another way of saying the saved. Have you accepted the call of Christ to put your trust in Him as your Lord and savor? God's purpose for our lives goes far beyond our way of looking at place and time. It is only to the man who loves and trusts Jesus that all things work together for good. The Living Bible says, "Called according to his purpose means "fit into God's plans." When you are out of the will of God you open the door for Satan to come in. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. against spiritual wickedness in high places" Ephesians 6: 12.
Christianity is not an escape from difficulty; it is a power to face life and its problems. There is a difference between being thankful for our circumstances and being thankful in them. Paul's beatings were not good. In spite of all these difficulties; Paul drew hope to continue because God was working in the midst of and even through all these events for good. Be thankful you can have God's help through them. I head someone say that they looked on there troubles as an opportunity to demonstrate how strong and powerful they were in Christ. What kind of attitude do you have?
HERSCHEL H. HOBBS:
Romans 8:28- "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." Hobbs, Studying Adult Life and Work, April-June 1988. If "all things" (panta) were the subject of the sentence, it would not agree with the verb "works together" (sunergei), which is third person singular and naturally expects the subject "he"; "all things", therefore, must be the object of the verb. If so, what is the subject? Two important Greek manuscripts have theos (God) as the subject, and many translators follow them. So it should read, "He (God) works together unto good with respect to all things." This is faith, not fatalism.
