Romans 8:28 – 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. (NLT)

Just trust God, and everything will work out for the good.

The Porters were college friends with whom we had a common bond: we were both from South Carolina; they also had two small children who were close in age to our two, one of which was our daughter's "boyfriend".

As so often happens, we lost track of them after graduation. Several years later, I received devastating news: their daughter had been killed. Riding a bicycle — which was a little too large for her — she rolled into the path of an oncoming truck, was struck, and died from the impact. Our family was stunned … and heartbroken. When I called to express my sympathies, the mom — with a broken voice — said, "We're just trusting God to get us through this."

I've heard enough religious platitudes in my lifetime to fill a small book, some of them biblical, some of them not, some well-timed, some ill-timed. Telling someone to trust God and everything will work out for the good happens to be true. How, when, and where I say it, however, should be carefully considered.

Everything that comes into my life won't be good. I've also experienced enough regretful things to fill a book. Actually, they have — several, in fact. Having good things happen continuously wouldn't necessarily cause me to trust God more. When things go well all the time, I have a tendency to trust myself instead of God. Bad things turn my focus on Him. Some turn a bitter focus, but others — myself included — turn a longing focus: a longing to know why and a longing to know how I should respond.

As I look back on the unfortunate things that I've experienced, I also see how God brought good from them. The lessons that I learned when I responded correctly are innumerable. My trust level in God rose, as did my degree of faith. Since the consequences of bad events tend to hang around — sometimes for years — I've been continually able to see God bringing good things from bad circumstances.

God is a good God who wants His children to experience good things — even if they have to come through unpleasant circumstances.

Let each of us trust God to manufacture good out of the bad times in our lives.

Prayer: Father, we have faith that You will turn the bad in our life into good that will spur us on to spiritual growth and bring glory to Your name. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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