by Pastor Rich Carlson

I’ve gone from using Romans 8:28 as the pat answer when life did not seem to be going well, to not believing it at all, to finding a reasonable meaning today. Here’s what I am learning:

• I don’t ever want to use this text as a trite and simplistic response to someone’s pain: "Oh, don’t worry, everything will work out for good if you love God."
• Everything is not good, and I don’t have to play games trying to make the junk in this life fit this text.
• I don’t think this text is necessarily talking about "everything" in life, as in every little thing that takes place.
• I cannot understand the workings and the ways of God. According to Scripture, God’s ways are way above me, so I don’t even want to pretend that I know how every bad thing fits into God’s plan.
• I find in the context of this famous verse, Paul’s struggle with waiting until Jesus comes. We will be united with Him and finally receive our adoption as sons and daughters (8:23), he says, but meanwhile there’s no denying life can be hard.
• While I "wait in eager expectation" for Jesus to come, there will be opportunities to learn the valuable lessons of trust, faith, and endurance—keeping on being faithful to Him until He decides it’s time to come (8:19-21).
• It is "in this hope" that I am saved (8:24).
• In the mean time, I must trust that it’s all going to work out if I love Him. I can trust Him—and here is Paul’s strong proof—we are predestined, called, justified and glorified (8:30). That’s how sure the conclusion is. It doesn’t appear to be as much about justifying the bad that happens to me as it is a statement of confidence in the final outcome for those who love God (8:28).
• Then Paul says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (8:31)
• God’s goal, according to Romans 8:29, is for me "to be conformed to the likeness of his Son."

We were at the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco and I saw a t-shirt from the island-prison of Alcatraz with these words on it:
"Regulation #5: You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege."

That was not only a rule at Alcatraz, it’s a good philosophy to live by. God will take care of my needs if I trust Him, but anything else I get in life is a privilege. When I don’t get everything I want in life or when something goes wrong, it’s not for me to give a simplistic, "Oh, don’t worry; all things work together…."  The verse is a statement of confidence in God’s ability to take care of me as I seek Him first, and the assurance that one day He will come back and make everything right. In the mean time, I need to keep loving God and trusting Him.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.