God Has A Perfect Plan For His Own
Far from a promise that believers will always come out on top, Romans 8:28 is a promise of eternal blessing. In its larger context, it’s clear what “good” Paul is emphasizing.
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. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
The point is this: Because of the plan of God and the provision of Christ and the protection of the Holy Spirit through His intercessory ministry, God is causing all things to work together for our final, eternal, ultimate good. Not everything in this life works out for good—far from it. You might draw a good lesson from it. You might draw a good outcome from it. You might be drawn to the Lord. It might increase your prayer life. It might strengthen you. It might give you patience. It might perfect you, mature you. It might make you able to counsel other people and strengthen them because . . . you’ve been comforted by God in the same struggles.
All of those are wonderful realities, but that’s not the good that’s being spoken of here. The good that dominates this passage is that ultimate, final good that is the glorification of true believers. We are secured to that final good, that which is the best.
That same perspective ought to guide our understanding of how the Lord supposedly closes doors and opens windows in our lives. It’s not a matter of fulfilling our hopes, plans, and desires—God moves in our lives and throughout all of history to bring about His will. Our temporal satisfaction is not a factor. And instead of always counting on Him to creatively pave the way to our happiness, we need to humbly accept that God has the authority to say no to us without having to say yes somewhere else.
Moreover, we need to humbly submit our lives to His sovereign control, and accept that our disappointments don’t make Him any less good, loving, or faithful. Sometimes He closes a door because He wants us right where we are.
Rather than worry about how the Lord will fulfill our hopes and dreams, we need to focus on the path He lays out before us and be willing to go wherever He leads—both through doors of blessing and of trials—with firm confidence in His sovereign care and our future with Him.
Our lives need to echo the assurance of David proclaimed in Psalm 37:23-25:
The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
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