Romans 8:28, 31 (CEB)

28 We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

31 So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 


Reflection

Fundamental to trust is the belief that the one you are placing your trust in has your best interests at heart.

Where that feeling doesn’t exist, there can’t be any trust.

You’ve probably experienced this before. Have you ever had a boss who seemed uninterested in helping those around him or her grow, develop, and advance? You know these people because they’re the ones who are ready to claim 100% of the credit for your work to their superiors. My guess is that once you figured this out, you probably started interacting with them differently: with caution and guardedness, not wanting them to give them anything to use against you.

Some people see God like that: as someone who doesn’t have our best interests at heart, who asks a lot from us but offers us little in return, who can’t be trusted to care for or look out for us. Often people get to that place as a result of a personal tragedy or trauma. It’s understandable that we might be cautious in our interactions with God after a devastating event. How could we not be? It’s reasonable to have those feelings, especially when we perceive that the One we’ve looked to for protection has abandoned us.

But God’s not like a bad boss. When my circumstances tempt me to believe those things, I return to this verse: “We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God.” Read it again: “God works ALL things together for good.”

That’s not to say that all things ARE good. Many genuinely awful things happen in our lives. But even so, God promises somehow to work all things together for good. In other words, even in the midst of difficulty, God is still at work on our behalf. God brings triumph out of tragedy and hope out of despair. Isn’t that the message of Easter?

And what that tells me is that God has our best interests at heart. God can be trusted. Because God is always FOR us.

by Joe Monahan


For Pondering & Prayer

Is there someone you know who is having a hard time trusting God? Maybe reach out today with these verses of scripture as a reminder that God is at work FOR them.

Prayer: When we face difficulty, bring us back to the truth that you can be trusted. Remind us that you are FOR us, working all things together for our good. Whether that’s happening in ways that are clear, or in ways that remain obscure, help us to trust in you. Amen.