Last time I shared how at times our plans fail, and a couple of verses that have brought me encouragement throughout the last year and a half of home addition, miscarriage, pregnancy after loss, and an autoimmune diagnosis. This time let’s look at how God works for good even when all looks bad.
Throughout all of this, I’ve been reminded that “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV) It’s not bad to have plans and desires, but we must remember that God can see the full picture, and He will establish our steps even if that means deviating from our plans. He is in control and will work all things, even the hard, miserable, wretched things for good.
It didn’t look good when Joseph was sold into slavery…but God worked evil for good.
It didn’t look good when Naomi’s husband and sons died…but God worked bad for good.
It didn’t look good when Goliath roared at the Israelites every day…but God worked it for good.
It didn’t look good when Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, but God worked for God.
It didn’t look good when the widow used her last ingredients to feed Elijah, but God worked it for good.
It didn’t look good when Saul watched Stephen be stoned, but God worked for good.
It didn’t look good when Esther was taken to be part of the king’s harem, but God worked it for good.
It didn’t look good when the Roman soldiers hung Jesus on the tree, but God had planned the bad, ugly death of his only Son to be our salvation. God works for good.
It didn’t feel good when the house addition upended our normalcy. It felt hard and irritating. But the result has given us a wonderful space for our family and practicing hospitality.
It didn’t feel good to lose my baby to miscarriage. But God allowed me to comfort others with the same comfort he has given me. (1 Corinthians) And he has blessed us beyond measure with a rainbow baby boy, born almost a year after the miscarriage.
Having Hashimoto’s doesn’t feel good, but God has used it to give me more compassion for others who have chronic conditions and to teach me about rest and relying on him.
Looking back at other storms in life, I can say the same thing…it didn’t feel good at the time, but truly, God is in the business of taking the bad and making good.
If you are going through one of those times when life isn’t going as planned and it looks and feels bad, may you cling to the hope of Romans 8:26-28.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
So many times other people and even ourselves bring up verse 28 in our conversations about the hard things in life. Yes, it is a good verse. Yes, it is a wonderful truth. But when we leave out verses 26-27, we leave out the comfort of knowing that when life hurts too much for us to have the words to express ourselves, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. When we are bone weary from the things going on in our lives, the Holy Spirit goes before the Father on our behalf, and God works for good.
When life seems bad and a way for it to become good seems impossible, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is praying for us and the Father is working all things for our good. We may not see the good in this life, our circumstances may not work out the way we think it is good, and we may not understand. But we know that God works for good.
It’s not just a trite saying, it’s a vital truth we can cling to.
