In the Middle of It || Romans 8:28 || Manna for the Mind #28

Welcome to Day 28 of my “Manna for the Mind” devotional series! This series takes a passage of scripture (typically 1-3 verses) and builds its understanding through its context and connecting scripture. Doing this helps us understand what the Bible truly teaches us. 

Romans 8:28

28          And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God is behind everything that happens in our lives. Through good and bad things, God is using them to develop good things to happen in our lives. He’s also using them to develop ourselves for the purpose he created us for.

God works in everything – not just in certain things – for our good. It doesn’t mean that everything that happens is good, nor do we have to call our pain and complicated emotions good. Yet, even though we are in or have gone through rough times, God can turn every circumstance into something that will benefit us in the future. As I’ve said for years, your tests will become your testimony. God didn’t cause bad/hard/evil things to happen to us, but God will use these things for a benefit later in life. It sucks that you had to go through it, but God is using it to have you help someone else go through it.

God doesn’t work only to make us happy but to fulfill his purposes, and this promise is not for everyone. It’s available to everyone, but you have to make that decision for God to use you. It’s claimed only by those who love and are called by him, which means that the Holy Spirit convinces you to follow God and enables you to receive Christ in your heart. They trust in God and not in things of the world. They find their security in Heaven’s goals, not Earth’s things. Their faith in God doesn’t waver when they feel grief or pain or are called out. They know that God is with them through the easy and challenging emotions. We have a bond with God that no human can replace.

Ephesians 1:11

11          Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

God has a purpose and a plan. His plan was to have a saving grace plan in the world long ago, which can be found in Genesis. Remember: God is in the world. He is the one who’s in charge. Throughout all the chaos that may be ongoing in your life, remember that God is controlling it all. God controls the chaos. This reminds me of our battle with temptation, where God says he will always provide us a way out of what we’re tempted. It will never indeed overwhelm us. It’s easier said than done, but it’s why we’re encouraged to lean into God’s peace, power, and control in moments of chaos.

Paul gives us the exact words of wisdom that he gave Timothy about being saved.

2 Timothy 1:9-10

9             For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from the beginning of time – to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

10          And now he has made all of this plain to us by appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way.

Paul shares this simple message with us: God loves us, called us, and sent Christ to die for us. Because of this, we can have eternal life through our faith in him. Why? Because he broke the power of death with his resurrection. While we may die physically, our souls will continue living in Heaven. We don’t deserve to be saved. Our sinful nature would have left us a death that Jesus suffered, but Jesus was a sacrifice for us to suffer this punishment. God sent his own son to die in our place so that we, his spiritual sons and daughters, can live on eternally.

This was the plan all along. It says so in Ephesians 3:11.

Ephesians 3:11

11          This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Believe it or not, this plan is shown in Genesis 1 and 2. Pay attention to how God created the world. Pay attention to the story arc of humanity throughout Genesis 1 and 11. You can see this eternal plan if you look hard enough.

Father God, thank you for the eternal plan of salvation. Humans have messed up countless times, but you still chose to save us. You still choose to further your plan to bring Heaven down to Earth. Use us to bring this mission to completion. Remind us to be grateful in our journey and show the compassion you gave us to others. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.