All Things Work Together

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to his purpose. -- Romans 8:28, ESV

     I've been reflecting on the events that have happened in my life... most of them were good (if we are speaking in terms of quantity) but many of them were bad also (speaking in terms of quality). The good things were frequent, but often short. The bad things were rare, but very, very potent. But both of these types of events God has used to equip me for life.

     Before I go further, I would like to clarify somethings:

First: Just because God works all things together for the good does NOT give us the right to become complacent or apathetic to His will. We must actively pursue righteousness and God's specific will for our lives. Also, it does not give us the right to give God "our worst." By that I mean, not doing our best for the Lord; instead, we give Him the ugliest sins we can muster simply because we didn't try or care to give God something better to work with. Paul vehemently opposes this mentality when he says:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? -- Romans 6:1-2, NASB

Second: Many times, we call our difficulties trials. This can be true, but there are many different kinds of trials -- somethings God allows because they make us stronger, somethings are direct attacks from the enemy -- yet another opportunity to grow -- but all to often, the things we call trials are nothing more than consequences. I DO NOT mean that every bad thing that happens in our lives is a consequence of our actions; allow me to illustrate.
     A teenage girl decides to rebel against her parents and has sex outside of marriage. She becomes pregnant. Is her pregnancy a trial? Answer: No. She is suffering the consequences of her actions. Can God forgive her? YES! Can God use this event for good? Yes, but only if she repents and seeks the will of the Lord in her life.
     A man with a wife and four children loses his home in a foreclosure. He and his wife are positive that God called them to live in that home. They were also wise stewards of their money -- not spending it foolishly or frivolously. Is the foreclosure a trial? Answer: Yes. Since the family and, hopefully, a godly council of elders, were working together, praying and seeking the will of the Lord, the loss of the home is a trial meant to strengthen the family. Does this make it easy? NO! Does this make it feel better? Probably not. But God wants us to grow closer to Him, few things do this better than times of difficulty.

     With this framework in place, I am going to share with you something that God has shown me in how He has worked the negative things in my life together for the good.

     Most of my hardships were self-inflicted. I chose not to obey or seek a closer relationship with God; this resulted in long periods of grief and pain. But, God did not forget His daughter. He has shown me how He chose to use those periods of rebellion as times of growth.

     I was sixteen years old when I became engaged. It wasn't a formal engagement, but it was no less real. I truly thought that this was my purpose. I HAD to get married. I HAD to become a wife. I HAD to become a mother, and I had to do it as soon as possible because I thought I had no purpose in life other than marriage. God through His grace and mercy rescued me from this dilution, but He did  more than that: through that time I learned how to read my Bible. I knew, in the midst of everything, I wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I learned how to seek God through His Word daily. It was through this daily devotion that I eventually broke off the engagement -- knowing that it wasn't right for me.

     I was nineteen years old when I got engaged a second time. I remember watching him get down on one knee and propose with the ring I had picked out. I knew that I was rushing everything. I knew God did not want me to get married yet, but I wanted to know when -- and I wanted "when" to be "now." Although I was not obeying or listening to the voice of the Lord, God still did not forget His daughter. In spite of everything I was doing, God worked it for the good: I learned how to pray. I knew I needed to know what God wanted me to do when or if I was going to get married. It was through this passionate pursuit of prayer that eventually brought me to break off the engagement.

     These are just two of the many events in my life that have equipped me to become a stronger Christian, but I would argue that these are the two most important and beautiful. God took two heartbreaking, rebellious, self-inflicted consequences and used them to be periods of spiritual growth. I learned how to read my Bible and how to pray -- the two most important aspects of the Christian's walk with Christ!

     Today, I look back and see how these two learned traits have helped me. I have been able to speak into people's lives and pray in a clear, real way. I know that God hears me, and I know that God speaks to me through His Word. I am so blessed because God works all things together for the good, but He has equipped me to be able to do more and better than I ever thought possible. I know God has so many grand and beautiful things in my future as long as I continually surrender my will for His and seek His face.