Who Controls The Future

In review of Romans 8:28 it says, “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.”

Bottom Line:

For those who love God, he causes what happens to work together for their good.

What this means to me:

Because I love God, I know that he causes everything that happens in my life to work together for my good. He does this because I love and trust in Him; believing that I am called according to his purpose.

When it comes to our future there is some fear as to what may happen.  We fear for the futures of our families, friends, and work life. This is natural because we really aren’t in control. It is this realization that should drive us to trust in God more deeply.

While I might not be in control of my future, I can know that God is. He created the whole universe. If he wanted to, the Lord could just snap it out of existence in a moment. What I’m learning is that he is working his plan in history. He is moving history to a climax, a destiny. One day Jesus Christ will come back to Earth. Nothing will stop that. Just as he is working in history to move events toward that day, he is at work in my life for a purpose, too, as long I let him.

The verse says, “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” (Romans 8:28 NLT).

Also what I’m learning is that God’s Word doesn’t say that everything is good. It also doesn’t say that God causes everything. For instance, He doesn’t cause war, cancer, rape, abortion, incest, or molestation. He doesn’t cause evil. We do that. It happens because God gives us the freedom to choose. Evil is unfortunately the price of that freedom.

But this verse does say that God causes everything to work together for good. He can take the dumb, evil, and bad decisions I’ve made in my life and use them for good if I’ll trust him. Romans 8:28 isn’t a promise for everyone, though. It’s for “those who love God.” It’s for those who trust God and say, “Here, Lord, you take all the broken pieces of my life and put them together.”

I shouldn’t fret too much when I hear the news or read the headlines. Sure, there are a lot of problems in the world today, but I can have confidence that God is still in control. God is still moving history to a climax. And God is still moving his people toward his best for them. One day God will work everything out for his purpose.

Because God is in control, I can trust him with everything, including the good, the bad, and the ugly of my life.

In summary, because of my love for God, I can know that he causes everything that happens in my life to work together for my good. He does this because of my love and trust in Him. I can truly believe that I am called according to his purpose.