“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
How you answer the following question will reveal a good deal about your general perspective on life:
“Do you believe life is happening TO you or do you believe life is happening FOR you?”
Do you believe life is happening TO you or do you believe life is happening FOR you?
Maybe you’ve never asked yourself this question before but it’s an important one to consider. The subtle difference in wording can make a monumental difference in your outlook.
If you reside in the camp that life—and all of the circumstances in it—simply happen to you, you probably feel like one of those targets at the county fair that people pay to throw balls at in pursuit of a prize. Your life may chug along perfectly fine for awhile until you begin to get pummeled by some direct hits that you try to recover from and hope to avoid in the future. You cringe at the sight of the basket of balls just waiting to be hurled in your direction.
If, however, you believe that life is happening for you, as we are told in Romans 8:28, then you understand that everything you are experiencing—even the extremely difficult things—are being woven together for your ultimate good. As one who loves God, you have certainty that the entire spectrum of your experiences—the good, the bad and the ugly—are continually being swept together by God Himself and harmonized in a way that brings benefit to your life. God is in the business of molding and shaping you, as His beloved child, and He uses your life experiences to bless you in that way.
Of course, not everything that happens in life is good in itself. You don’t have to look far to find plenty of devastating struggles and pain. But even the experiences that plummet you into the depths of heartache can plant seeds of new life in God’s benevolent hands. It may not be easy to see how your adversity is being used to your benefit. You may never understand it on this side of heaven. But our sovereign God, who sees the broad scope of eternal perspective, never stops working on your behalf.
Oh, dearly loved child of God—don’t miss this. With the attitude that life is happening for us, we don’t have to fear the looming diagnosis or the stock market projections or the upcoming election. We can have confidence knowing that no matter what trial we are walking through in this very moment and no matter what comes our way tomorrow, God is at work, making all things benefit us. Because of this, as those who love Him, we can confidently place our trust securely in His hands—exactly where our lives are—
for good.