Have you ever stumbled across a beautiful quote that you just want to chew on? A quote that makes you think deeper… A quote you want to type out and stick on your fridge for those hard to swallow, bad days?
I have. It was written by a man who passed away a few years ago. A man who was well acquainted with grief. He begins with Romans 8:28,
“All things work together for the good to them that love God”
Notice, it does not say that “All things are good.” Rather, they are good once put together. When I consider the various events of my own life, I don’t know if everything is “good.” However, I am convinced that everything combined is good. Indeed, not a few things. Or some things…. but everything (!) works together for the good. – Peter John Courson
It would be foolish to think that all things are good. That war is good, that abuse is good, that a horrible day is good… no, indeed they are not good, but for those who love God they work together for good.
Remember the story of Joseph–you know, the boy with the colourful coat? His brothers set out to kill him, but instead they threw him in a pit and sold him as a slave to travelling merchants. As you know, he was later imprisoned for refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife. Remember the pain, the rejection and the suffering that he went through, and finally remember his words in Genesis 50:20,
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Maybe you’re not Joseph, and maybe you’ve never been to Egypt, but even so you can be sure that the enemy is working against you.
He wants you to harden your heart. He wants to steal your joy and your peace. He wants to render you useless in the work of the Lord, and so he’ll work every manner of evil against you in hopes that you give up the fight.
And how do you fight when you’re under attack? By believing that the wisdom of God infinitely higher than ours. By looking outside at the sky and telling yourself that the same God Who hung the stars in the sky is at work in your life.
By trusting, by believing, and by leaning on Him.
Subscribe so you don’t miss a post:
Tilling the Soil
Read Genesis 50.
Planting Hope
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV)
Visit our sister site, My P31 Home for recipes, cleaning, and home management articles.
Your donations help to support this ministry as we share the gospel with over 500,000 women around the world. Click here to donate.
Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.
She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.
It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.
Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.
Connect with Darlene:
Facebook: @timewarpwife
Instagram: @timewarpwife
Pinterest: @timewarpwife
Twitter: @timewarpwife
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife