“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.”
— Romans 8:28
There is perhaps no verse in Scripture so often quoted in times of trial and yet so deeply misunderstood as Romans 8:28.
It has been scrawled in sympathy cards, whispered at hospital bedsides, and clung to by the brokenhearted. But too often it is treated as a shallow platitude, a promise of temporal ease or earthly happiness. To some, it has even become a stumbling block when suffering lingers and no good seems to emerge.
Yet Paul’s words, when rightly understood, are not cheap comfort. They are a towering declaration of God’s sovereign providence, a rock beneath the feet of weary saints. This verse speaks of a God who rules over every detail of life—including our suffering—and who bends all things to His wise and loving purposes.
Here we are invited to rest—not in our understanding of circumstances, but in the unchanging character of the God who works all things for good.
“And We Know” – A Confident Assurance
Paul begins with striking confidence: “And we know.” This is no tentative hope, no mere possibility. It is settled knowledge rooted in the revelation of God.
For the believer, this confidence is not naive optimism. It is not the assumption that everything will turn out as we would like. It is trust in the One who “works all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
This assurance is grounded not in circumstances but in God’s character. He is wise in all His ways, powerful in all His works, and good in all His purposes.
As the Heidelberg Catechism so beautifully puts it:
“Providence is the almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by His hand, He upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come, not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.” (Lord’s Day 10)
This is what we know: nothing is random, nothing is wasted, and nothing is beyond the reach of God’s providence.
“That All Things Work Together” – The Extent of God’s Providence
Paul’s scope is breathtaking: “all things.” Not some things. Not most things. All things.
This includes:
- Joy and sorrow
- Health and sickness
- Success and failure
- Life and death
Even the darkest moments of human suffering are not outside the reach of God’s sovereign hand.
But how can this be? Does God cause evil? No. God is not the author of sin (James 1:13). Yet in His infinite wisdom, He ordains even the sinful acts of men to accomplish His holy purposes.
Consider Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. Years later he declared, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
The same truth shines brightest at the cross. The most wicked act in history—the crucifixion of the sinless Son of God—was the means by which God secured salvation for His people. “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23).
If God can bring ultimate good from ultimate evil, can He not also weave your pain, your loss, your trials into His good purpose?
“For Good” – The Nature of the Good
Here is where we must tread carefully. What does Paul mean by “good”?
It is not necessarily the good we would choose. It is not always comfort, health, prosperity, or relational restoration. It is not a guarantee that our earthly stories will resolve neatly or happily.
The “good” of Romans 8:28 is defined by verse 29: “to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
This is God’s ultimate purpose: to make His children like Christ. Every joy, every trial, every tear is part of His refining work, shaping us into the likeness of the One who suffered for us.
This “good” is eternal, not temporal; spiritual, not material; God-centered, not man-centered.
For the Reformed believer, this aligns with our understanding of God’s providence: His governance is not primarily for our comfort but for His glory and our sanctification.
“To Them That Love God” – The Recipients of the Promise
This promise is not universal. It is not given indiscriminately to all humanity. It belongs to a specific people: “them that love God.”
Love for God is not the condition of the promise but the evidence of belonging to Him. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our love for God, though imperfect, marks us as His redeemed children.
This is a sobering reminder: for those outside of Christ, all things do not work together for good. Apart from God’s saving grace, suffering remains only tragedy, and sin leads only to judgment.
But for those in Christ, even suffering serves a holy purpose. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
“To Them Who Are the Called According to His Purpose” – The Ground of the Promise
Paul adds a second description of the recipients: “them who are the called according to his purpose.”
This “calling” is effectual, not general. It refers to God’s sovereign summons of His elect to salvation, as described in Romans 8:30: “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
Here we see that the promise rests not on our ability to endure trials but on God’s eternal purpose. He has set His love upon His people from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4–5), and He will bring His work to completion (Philippians 1:6).
Our suffering is not random or meaningless. It is part of a grand tapestry woven by the hands of a sovereign, loving Father.
Practical Implications: Resting in God’s Providence
How then shall we live in light of this truth?
1. Rest in God’s Sovereignty
Though we cannot see the full picture, we trust the One who does. His providence is not an abstract doctrine but a pillow for weary souls.
2. Pray with Confidence
We pray not as those grasping at chance but as children coming to a Father who ordains all things for our good and His glory.
3. Endure with Hope
Suffering is never wasted. Every trial is a tool in the Redeemer’s hand to conform us to Christ.
4. Give Thanks in All Things
Even in hardship, we give thanks—not for the pain itself but for the God who works through it (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
A Word of Comfort and Challenge
Beloved, are you walking through a season of suffering? Does the weight of life’s trials threaten to crush you? Take heart: the God who called you is faithful. He is working even now in ways you cannot see.
Perhaps you cannot yet trace His hand. But you can trust His heart. As Spurgeon famously said, “When you cannot trace His hand, you can trust His heart.”
One day, in glory, you will see how every sorrow, every loss, every unanswered question was part of a story far greater and more beautiful than you imagined.
Until then, rest in this unshakable truth:
“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.”
Romans 8:28 is not a trite slogan. It is a deep well of hope for suffering saints. It calls us to trust in the God who rules over all, loves His people perfectly, and is weaving every thread of our lives into His perfect plan.
In Christ, all things—not some, not most, but all—are working for your eternal good.
So lift your eyes from the trial to the throne. The God who governs galaxies also governs your grief, and He will not fail.
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