Romans 8:28 – do you know that verse?  You should!  It’s one of the most important promises (at least to me) when I feel confused about what God is doing or what I should be doing.  It says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Do you ever wonder how you got where you are?  Have you ever looked back and said, “Man, if that had not happened exactly that way, things would be very different.”?  My wife and I were talking the other day about the ‘coincidences’ that brought us together.  How she and I took very different roads to that little Bible college in a far-away town… and even more twists and turns that led us here.  It’s mind-boggling to think about all the details that had to come to pass for us to find each other and for us to land right here – smack-dab in the center of the will of God.
Twists and Turns
I don’t know about you, but the times I pull that verse (Rom. 8:28) out and dust it off for ‘use’ are when things aren’t going so well and I feel like up is down and down is up.  It’s when I feel like I’m failing – or about to.  It’s when the journey that I assumed would be straight and beautiful gets dark and dangerous.  I rarely have to remind myself that things are going to work out when they seem to be working out.  It’s natural not to wear a life-vest when you’re on the mainland.  Let’s move out of the natural into the supernatural.

There are some key points in this verse that really have helped me throughout the twists and turns of life:
And we KNOW – we can be confident (as sure as we are that the Bible is true) that ALL things – He really means everything (not just the good times, and not just the bad times) work TOGETHER – the events in our life are woven together (not individually) by God into a beautiful tapestry that pleases Him  for GOOD – only God knows what is truly good for me to them that LOVE God – this phrase is not meant to condemn us (we could all love more), but to encourage us to love God instead of getting bitter at Him to them who are CALLED – Our Creator has invited you to be with Him forever according to His PURPOSE -He doesn’t need us to understand, only to be ‘patient with Him’ while He makes good on His promises… just enjoy the ride.
Storm Damage
The recent storms have caused me to ask the same question in a little different way.  I was driving down the road on February 6, 2008, just six hours after the terrible winds had ravaged our communities.  Again and again I saw an unusual pattern among the houses in surrounding subdivisions… a home with major damage nestled between two homes with minor damage.  A barn with major damage next to a house and a carport that should’ve been destroyed – but were still standing intact.  It didn’t make sense.
The questions are only logical…   What if we had bought that house?  What if they had not built on that lot?  Why me?  Was it faulty construction?  Who’s to blame?

The truth is that God uses things that we would never expect to get us to places we would never go, because He knows that’s exactly where we need to be.  The funny thing is, that we find out why after it’s ‘too late’ to care.  All we need to know is that God is doing it & that He’s doing it for a work that is too great and big for me to understand.  Just thank Him for not yet giving up – even if you have!

Article by Pastor Patrick Nix, husband to Joy  for 11 years; father of three boys: Austin, 10;  Alanson, 6;  Asher, 4; and of their baby girl, Anna Belle