Rightly Discerning the Word

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

It amazes me how so many verses in the Bible get misused. This verse is definitely near the top of the list. Whenever good people, who love God, have something bad happen to them, they quote this verse. It sounds very good but it is so misleading. First off, God doesn't use disasters to bring us closer to Him. If you will take the time to study Romans 8, the whole chapter teaches about living in the spirit realm. Suddenly we get to verse 28 and it's about living in the flesh, and then it goes back to living in the spirit realm.

That's crazy! God doesn't burn houses down to bring men closer to Him. He does use Holy Spirit to direct us. When we are called "according to His purpose,” we have at our disposal all the resources of heaven to get the job done. If disaster comes our way, we have all of God's vast resources available to navigate through the trial. The thing to remember here is God doesn't steal, kill, and destroy. Those are tools used by our enemy against us.

by Rick (Papa) Wilson