Day 31 - More than Wishful thinking

Romans 8:28-30 (ESV) -
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

When things weren’t going well, someone may say to you: “Don’t worry, everything is going to work out okay.” But is that just wishful thinking? 

Sometimes people are naively optimistic. Neville Chamberlin, the British Prime Minister, who returned from a meeting with Adolf Hitler, proclaimed that Hitler’s assuring words meant there would be “peace for our time.” A day later, Hitler began his aggression. Some well-meaning people will say your doctor’s warnings are nothing to worry about—and then you find out things aren’t so good. False optimism is wishful thinking shouted out loud. 

Romans 8:28 offers a different kind of optimism: “And we know that in all things God works for the good...” Not that all things are good (they are not). Not that all things add up to a positive sum (life is not arithmetic). Not that all things become good things. Rather, God is at work amidst “all things,” which means every day and every chapter of life, even the dark ones. He is at work. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t leave. Any work that God does is good because he is God. Even the bad chapters of life end up being passageways to something better. There is light at the end of the tunnel—there really is. 

Who can have this kind of hope? “Those who have been called according to his purpose.”
It works like this: God foreknows (understands with love)...God predestines (prepares ahead of time)...God calls...God justifies...God glorifies. 

You’ve fallen off a ship and are sinking in the waves. The captain, who is concerned for all his passengers (foreknowledge) grabs the lifebuoy hanging on the boat’s side (predestination—a way of salvation prepared ahead of time), shouts out to you (calls), throws the ring to where you are (justifies), and pulls you safely to the ship (glorifies). 

When we believe that we are “called according to God’s purpose,” today’s sufferings have a wider context. We can know that things really are going to work out.

PONDER:  How can we let hope have a stronger voice in our lives than our pessimism does?

REFLECTION or DISCUSSION:
We live in a fallen and broken world. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the ugly and the bad that we forget that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him...” Not all things are good, but in the midst of everything we can trust in God, who knows all, understands all, cares for all and is working for the good.
Read Romans 8:28 and Isaiah 41:10. What are some sad/bad/ugly things that have happened to you? How does having a relationship with Jesus give us hope when those things happen? Pray.