God Is Still Working

This morning, I found myself sitting with one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible. Romans 8:28 is a verse I've heard since I was a little girl. I've quoted it to encourage other people. I've leaned on it during difficult seasons. But this morning, I slowed down long enough to really pay attention to what Paul was saying.

He didn't say everything that happens to us is good.

He said God works all things together for good.

Those are not the same thing.

If you've lived long enough, you've experienced things that weren't good. There are seasons we would never choose. Prayers that seemed to go unanswered. Doors that closed without explanation. Relationships that ended. Dreams that took longer than we expected. Some experiences leave us wondering, "God, what are You doing?"

I've asked that question before.

Maybe you have too.

As I continued reading the verse, I realized something I had never really thought about. God never promised that I would understand everything He was doing while He was doing it. He simply promised that He was working.

There's comfort in that.

Think about a master chef preparing a meal. If you looked at the ingredients one by one, some of them wouldn't taste very good by themselves. Flour isn't satisfying by itself. Baking soda isn't something you would eat with a spoon. Vanilla extract by itself is bitter. Yet somehow, when they're placed into the hands of someone who knows exactly what they're doing, every ingredient has a purpose. What looked unrelated becomes something tasteful.

Isn't that what God does with our lives?

There have been seasons I didn't understand until years later. At the time, I thought God had forgotten me. Looking back, I can see He was positioning me. What felt like rejection became redirection. What I thought was a delay became preparation. What I wanted Him to remove became the very thing He used to deepen my faith.

If God had explained everything to me in those moments, I probably wouldn't have believed Him anyway. I could only see what was right in front of me. He could already see what was ahead.

That's why Romans 8:28 has become more than a comforting scripture for me. It's become an invitation to trust the character of God when I cannot trace His hand.

Maybe that's where you are today.

Maybe you're looking at one chapter of your story and wondering how anything good could possibly come from it. If that's you, don't judge the entire story by one chapter. God is still writing. He's still arranging. He's still working behind the scenes in ways you cannot yet see.

One day you'll look back and realize that what seemed disconnected was never disconnected at all. God was weaving every piece together with purpose.

Reflection

What part of your story have you concluded is over, when God may still be working?

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