Are all things good?

I really like the scripture Romans 8:28 that says: “We know that all things work together for good, to those who love the Lord.” But if we stop and think about that for a minute…do all things work together for good? Or, to ask it another way, are all things good? Of course not. Not all things are good. Death is not good. Divorce is not good. Disease is not good. The shootings at the theater in Colorado were not good. There are many things in this world that are not good.

Further study of this verse lets us know that these things are ‘working together for good’ to those that love God. See, God did not cause Lucifer to rebel, Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, David to sleep with Bathsheba or the Roman army to kill Jesus. But, in every one of these things, God was in the background working for good.

Whether we know it or not, or whether we believe it or not, God is still on His throne and He is in control of this world. I know, as I look around and see what is going on, it might seem that God has abandoned us. Or that He has given up on us. You might think He has given up on you. But He has not. I believe that God gets the “rap” for a lot of bad things that are going on in this world today. If the devil can get our eyes off him and the bad things he is doing and get us to blame God then he has accomplished his goal.

The biggest tool of the devil is to cause God’s people to ask this question, “If God allowed this to happen, He’s obviously not very powerful or He doesn’t care. Why would you want to follow someone like that?” But here’s the greatest news of all. In the book of Romans 14:11…the Bible says that one day, Jesus is coming back and that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings to the glory of God the Father.”

In every situation, God is working. In the most very worst situation this world has even known, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God was working out our salvation because of what Jesus did on the cross. So even in a most horrible act, God brought about good “for whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) So the next time you are tempted to believe that God has abandoned you, realize that He has it all worked out and He is in control of the situation…no matter what the situation might be.

Pastor Thad Gifford is lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church of Madison County, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.