“God Causes...”

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”-{Rom 8:28}

“God CAUSES...” He has the ability, authority, and Sovereignty to bring it about, and it is He who is working it “all” not some of it but “all” without exception, to work it out for “good.” But note, it is exclusive. It is only for those “who love God and are the called!” They are those who are His children who have been born again by His Spirit. Those who have repented and put their faith in the LORD Jesus Christ.

  • “Paul is not saying that God prevents His children from experiencing things that can harm them. He is rather attesting that the Lord takes all that He allows to happen to His beloved children, even the worst things, and turns those things ultimately into blessings… No matter what our situation, our suffering, our persecution, our sinful failure, our pain, our lack of faith-in those things, as well as in all other things, our heavenly Father will work to produce our ultimate victory and blessing. The corollary of that truth is that nothing can ultimately work against us” -{John Mac Arthur}

And as His, you can be assured and have confident expectation no matter what you go through that God is taking it and knitting it as it were together as part of causing, working it all out for your eternal good! And nothing or no one can thwart Him from achieving His ultimate “purpose” of eternal good for you! God CAUSES it to work out so! What Hope, What a God He is!

  • Things just don’t happen to work out for “good” “BUT GOD…CAUSES…” it to do so! God is intimately attentive, and lovingly involved in your life! God brings the blessing out of it, whether in this world or the world to come. God is in control!

“WORK TOGETHER,”

is where we get our word “synergy” which means as it were all the bits and pieces coming together to one end “for Good!” Sometimes we may not “see” how in our own thinking, “But God…” is working it “all,” causing it “all” to come together for “good!” And this is a promise, it is exclusive, not for everyone but the verse says “to those who love God and are “the called…” And you love Him because He first loved you and so this promise is for…you! So, though at times you go through difficulties, tears even, you can look at the circumstances and know “this too”…” will work together for good!”

“GOOD” –the word means “beneficial, profitable, useful.” God will cause it all to work for our spiritual benefit, profitable and good!

  • The “GOOD,” such as
    • No Condemnation for you In Christ-{Rom 8:1}
    • No Separation from the love of God for you -{Rom 8:31-39}
    • The Provision of the Holy Spirit to intercede in your weakness as He prays “according to the will of God” for you!-{Rom 8:26-27}
    • Growing in the grace and knowledge of Him,-{Read 2 Peter 3:18};
    • Being Conformed to His image -{Romans 8:29} and
    • Glorifying Him, {Rom 8:17}…and eventually…
    • Being with Him in Glory as part of the “good.” -{Read Jude v 24}.
    He works it all together for good… to turn it into a blessing, Joseph knew this, and others were blessed as a result. He works it all together for good…That’s His promise to you! Be encouraged!
    “GOOD” the word means “beneficial, profitable, useful.” God will cause it all to work for our spiritual benefit, profitable and good!

     

Ray Pritchard explains “good” by asking…

Is Paul saying, “Whatever happens is good.” No. Is he saying that suffering and evil and tragedy are good? No. Is he saying everything will work out if we just have enough faith? No. Is he saying that we will be able to understand why God allowed tragedy to come? No.

What, then, is he saying? He is erecting a sign over the unexplainable mysteries of life—a sign which reads “Quiet. God at work.” How? We’re not always sure. To what end? Good, and not evil. That’s what Romans 8:28 is saying… Our danger is that we will judge the end by the beginning. Or, to be more exact, that we will judge what we cannot see by what we can see. That is, when tragedy strikes, if we can’t see a purpose, we assume there isn’t one. But the very opposite is true. We ought to judge the beginning by the end. Here is where Romans 8:28 gives us some real help. Paul says, “For we know that all things work together for good.” That phrase work together is really one word—sunergeo—in Greek. We get our English word “synergy” from it. And what is synergy? It is what happens when you put two or more elements together to form something brand-new that neither could form separately… That’s synergy—the combination of many elements to produce a positive result. That’s what Paul means when he says that God causes all things to “work together.” Many of the things that make no sense when seen in isolation, are in fact working together to produce something good in my life. There is a divine synergy even in the darkest moments, a synergy which produces something positive. And that “good” that is ultimately produced could not happen any other way… (in Romans 8:29 Paul explains that) God has predestined you and me to a certain end. That certain end is the “good” of Romans 8:28. That certain end is that we might be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ… When Paul says that all things work together for good, he is not saying that the tragedies and heartaches of life will always produce a better set of circumstances. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. But God is not committed to making you healthy, wealthy and wise. He is committed to making you like his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And whatever it takes to make you more like Jesus is good. So it is in the providence of God that we learn more in the darkness than we do in the light. We gain more from sickness than we do from health. We pray more when we are scared than when we are confident.”

IT DOESN’T SAY-

“All things are Good!” It doesn’t say Evil and suffering is good. It doesn’t say that tragedy is good. It doesn’t say if we have enough faith it will work out for good. But it does say that “GOD…” Is the Source!  “God causes All things to work together for good!” God can take suffering and use it for “good” in turning the person to lean more on the LORD, Speak more to Him. God can take evil and bring good out of it as he did in Joseph’s life.”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.”-{Genesis 50:20}. Joseph and others, as a result, experienced the good blessing of God as a result! Others benefitted! Dear Job suffered unbelievably and God brought “good” out of it through such as Paul, Joseph, and Job down through the ages as He has comforted, encouraged, and strengthened suffering people’s lives, so they would know the empathy of God and comfort of God for them! Others have benefitted Blessing as a result! God works it all for good, including suffering! 2 Cor 1:3-4 teaches the same, “… who comforts us in all our troubles, SO THAT we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”-{2 Cor 1:4}

Every experience, that comes into our lives, be they good , bad, evil, God promises to work for good. Whether it be suffering, temptation, sin, lonliness, abandonment, divorce, the painful loss of a loved one, overlooked for promotion because of your allegiance to Christ, mocked, ostacized for His sake,… There is nothing that can thwart that promise to cause it all to work for your Eternal glory! His promise of eternal good is… for you!

He has an end in view, and so often when we cannot see the end we cannot see how it will work out for “good!”And in verses 26-27 for those in the darkness of difficulties, perplexities come to have the Spirit of God assure them, God has got this, and He promises and He has the power, wisdom, love, to cause it all- whatever it be – to work together for good!

So, we don’t live by “chance,” uncertainty, but by Scriptural “Hope, ” which means, “confident expectation” in God and His Word!

At times as one dear friend once shared with me, “it may not feel good, look good, but He promises it will work out for good!”So, go forward in faith, not based on what you “see or don’t see” but on what He says and Who He is, “The God of all Hope…” God is working… Remember, God, is working to an end….” all things to work out for your good…” That does not mean we get what we want but what He wants and what He deems as “good!” Ultimately “the good” is to mold us into the image of the LORD Jesus, in thought, motive, word, and deed…{Read Rom 8:29}. To TRANSFORM US!! That is His “Good” for us! Have you ever thought of that?

So whatever you are going through we can confidently say… it will all work out for “good.” Why? Because…

“GOD CAUSES….” it to be so!–😀

God bless

And encourage you

Aidan