Does God really make sure everything turns out good?

Does God really make sure everything turns out good? Some Christians seem to think He does. But is that really true? What if I tell you the answer is, “It depends”?

Actually, it depends on a whole bunch of things. One of those things is what do we mean by “good”?

For instance, check out the images below. They all, supposedly, represent “good”.

The first one is from Pixabay, a free image site. It was there amongst things like fresh bread, fruit, pastries, lattes. smiley faces. and 9,617 other images. It’s something I thought was good.

The second is from Bing Chat / DALL-E, when I asked it to make me an image of good. Surprisingly, for an AI-generated image, it’s not too bad if you don’t look too closely. However, there are the usual telltale signs. She has two different color eyes and they’re not looking in the same direction. She does have, amazingly, five fingers on each hand, although the thumbs are a bit malformed, especially her left one. And, of course, it can’t spell.

The third one is also from Bing Chat / DALL-E. Continuing from the one with the young lady, I asked it to make it a colored chalk drawing. It lost the woman, for some reason. It did make it look like colored chalk. And it still can’t spell.

You can just imagine, if you randomly pick three people and ask them what’s good, you’ll probably also get three different answers. And if you repeat that often enough, some of the answers are bound to make you scratch your head and wonder, what’s good about that?

The bottom line is that we can’t even agree on what good is. So how can we hope to agree on what’s a good outcome to an event or series of events that went bad?

There are other issues as well. We’ll see them when we take a look at two “popular” verses for the idea that God makes everything turn out good for everyone.

Does God really make sure everything turns out good – an Old Testament example

The Old Testament example comes from Genesis. It begins with Joseph, of the coat of many colors. After a whole lot of bad stuff, we get to the verse about how God turned evil intent into something that saved a whole lot of lives.

The events leading up to the birth of Joseph.

For those who think the Bible’s boring, let’s start at the beginning, even before Joseph was born. Jacob was Joseph’s father. His entire life seems like one calamity after another. And the birth of his children was no different.

Jacob’s Children

^{Ge 29:31} When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

^{Ge 29:33} She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

^{Ge 29:34} Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

^{Ge 29:35} She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

^{Ge 30:1} When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

^{Ge 30:2} Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

^{Ge 30:3} Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family.”

^{Ge 30:4} So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.

^{Ge 30:7} Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.

^{Ge 30:9} When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

^{Ge 30:12} Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

^{Ge 30:14} During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

^{Ge 30:15} But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

^{Ge 30:16} So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

^{Ge 30:17} God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

^{Ge 30:19} Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

^{Ge 30:21} Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

^{Ge 30:22} Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

Phew! Not that it’s directly on topic, but it was Joseph’s beginning. And doesn’t it make you wonder how can anything good possibly come from any of that? That same question can also be applied going all the way back to Abram/Abraham. And yet, what you just read was the beginnings of the twelve tribes of Israel!

Joseph’s brothers hated him

Lots of families have that one special child. Joseph’s father loved him. Gave him special attention and gifts. He was kind of a dreamer. His brothers hated him. The dream about the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him was too much for them. It set into motion the sequence of events that God would use to save many lives.

Joseph’s Dreams

^{Ge 37:1} Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

^{Ge 37:2} This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

^{Ge 37:3} Now Israel (the new name previously given by God to Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

^{Ge 37:5} Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

^{Ge 37:8} His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

^{Ge 37:9} Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

^{Ge 37:10} When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”

^{Ge 37:11} His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Yes, Joseph’s brothers were not happy. Worse than not happy, as it turns out. And as we’re about to find out.

Joseph’s brothers hated him so much that …

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

^{Ge 37:12} Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, ¹³ and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.

^{Ge 37:14} So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

^{Ge 37:16} He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

^{Ge 37:17} “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

^{Ge 37:19} “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

^{Ge 37:21} When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

^{Ge 37:23} So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

^{Ge 37:25} As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

^{Ge 37:26} Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

^{Ge 37:28} So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

^{Ge 37:29} When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

^{Ge 37:31} Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

^{Ge 37:33} He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

^{Ge 37:34} Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him.

^{Ge 37:36} Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

That’s a lot of hatred. It could’ve been worse. They might’ve killed Joseph. But we see in verse 28 where God intervened when Judah convinced the brothers not to kill Joseph. That started the sequence of events culminating in Joseph’s often repeated statement.

If you want to read the soap opera style events in between, and the parts I’ve left out to keep this somewhat short, you can go to this link: Genesis 30, and begin reading there.

God makes things turn out good

After all those events took place, with God guiding Joseph through a myriad of problems, we read:

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

^{Ge 50:15} When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

^{Ge 50:18} His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

^{Ge 50:19} But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

And there’s the line:

^{Ge 50:20} You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

A lot of people read that and think God will always make things turn out for good. Not only that, but that God will make things turn out for good for everyone. And then there’s disappointment when that doesn’t happen.

Such conclusions about the meaning of what Joseph said really aren’t valid. It’s not so easy to see here, unless we read all the chapters in between that I left it for you to read.

So, let’s look at our example from the New Testament. Then we’ll circle back and see how this Old Testament example should be viewed.

Does God really make sure everything turns out good – a New Testament example

The New Testament example is from Paul, in Romans. Let’s start with just the one verse, then we’ll fill in around it.

Paul – God works for the good if/when …

^{Ro 8:28} And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

So, this narrows it down, doesn’t it?

When does God make things turn out for the Good?

When does God make things turn out for the Good?

In Romans, Paul writes that God makes all things turn out for good in all things when we love God and/or have been called by God. One big question revolves around what is good?

Given that Romans 8:28 begins with the word “And”, we need to back up a bit. “And” is a transition word between what we’re about to read and what we already read just before this. Since we’re starting here, that means we need to move back to where the thoughts connected by the word “and” started.

Living through/with the Holy Spirit

Therefore, let’s go back to the beginning of Chapter 8. What you’re going to read may seem a strange place to “begin”, but it really isn’t. Yes, the passage is going to start with the word “Therefore”. That sounds like we should back up even further. But, we’re not going to look at all of Romans today. We’ve got a limited topic. In this case, “therefore” goes beyond our scope. So we will begin with this passage.

Life Through the Spirit

^{Ro 8:1} Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
^{Ro 8:5} Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷ the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

^{Ro 8:9} You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

^{Ro 8:12} Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

As you can see, this is about sin. Further, about the reality that if we are truly followers of Jesus, and if we listen to the Holy Spirit, and if we try to live by the Holy Spirit, a number of blessings follow.

Here’s a very succinct statement on what this passage is about. As you read it, remember that what we read in Genesis was even before God gave the Law to His people in Genesis. Also remember, the law was meant to show people was sin was, but differentiating right from wrong. Obviously, Judah knew the plan to kill Joseph was wrong. Throughout the rest of Genesis, not to mention what came earlier, there was lots of sin.

Then the Israelites were held captive under Pharaoh, in Egypt, long after Joseph was forgotten. Then, during the Exodus, God gave the law to Moses and to His people through Moses.

In this passage in Romans, Paul is showing the impact of the move from the Law in the Old Covenant to salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross in the New Covenant.

8:1–17 In this chapter, Paul presents God’s solution to humanity’s enslavement to sin—the Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to overcome the limitations of the flesh and live in righteousness. Only the power of God’s indwelling Spirit can free the believer from the law of sin and death (v. 2).  ¹

Future reward, not present

In the Old Testament/Old Covenant, blessings and punishment tended were on this earth. Maybe they were rather immediate. Maybe they came in a later generation. Depending. on the people, they could last for generations. It was all about whether the people followed God or not.

But now, the blessings and curses were more about the future. The next life. Yes, consequences may be felt in this life, either blessings or curses, but the ultimate realization of them is in the next life.

This. is what Paul wrote about in the next passage.

Future Glory

^{Ro 8:18} I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

^{Ro 8:22} We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

^{Ro 8:26} In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

8:18–30 In this passage, Paul addresses the tension between present suffering and the hope of future glory, explaining why the redemption of the children of God and creation itself is only partially fulfilled.

8:18 sufferings of the present time Earthly suffering is not an eternal reality. In v. 17, Paul’s reference to suffering together with Christ likely alludes to persecution for confessing faith in Christ. Here, the present sufferings may refer to more than persecution and encompass the full range of human experience: sickness, injury, natural disaster, financial loss, poverty, hunger, and death.²

Turning out good – more than conquerors

Now, finally, we can look at the remainder of the context for what Paul wrote about God making things turn out for good.

However, there’s one more thing before we go too deep into it. Pay attention to the full wording of that verse:

^{Ro 8:28} And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

What does that mean?

Is there are difference between those who love God and those who were called by Him? This is a huge denominational issue. Some say yes, there is a difference. Others say no, the only ones who can love God are the ones He called.

I wrote a three-part series on the question. Both sides of this argument have verses they can point to. That appears to mean the Bible says both. And yet, many denominations draw a line in the sand and say there’s only one correct point of view. Either everyone can love God or only those who God called are capable of loving Him.

As I said, it’s a disputed topic. I still don’t understand why it can’t be both. That God called some people, like Joseph, Moses, Paul, and so many others, but that God also gave all of the rest of us the option to love Him or not. The series I wrote goes through both traditional arguments, and the third segment shows the passages that point to both.

If you’re curious, the info on it is in the adjacent inset box.

So with that, let’s check out the passage.

More Than Conquerors

^{Ro 8:28} And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

^{Ro 8:31} What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Notice, this one is also not global. It does not say God will make things turn out good for everyone. Depending on the view you choose to follow for predestiny or free will (or both?) that may be a different number of people to you. But either way, it’s not everyone.

What is good?

However, this does resolve one question from the Old Testament example. That one left us with a question of “what is good”? One person’s good might be another person’s bad.

What is good – an Old Testament Example

This time, let’s look at part of Job’s experience with God and Satan. Specifically, Job’s response to the first test.

Job’s First Test

^{Job 1:6} One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

^{Job 1:8} Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

^{Job 1:9} “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

^{Job 1:12} The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

^{Job 1:13} One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

^{Job 1:16} While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

^{Job 1:17} While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

^{Job 1:18} While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

^{Job 1:20} At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”

^{Job 1:22} In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

How many of us would’ve responded like that?

Maybe we think that was a tough test because it was from the Old Testament. Things like that wouldn’t/don’t happen anymore. And maybe you’re right.

What is good – a New Testament Example

But, if you are right, then it’s only because the test might be tougher. If you don’t believe that, check out Story About The Hymn It Is Well With My Soul. It’s about a wealthy man who, through a series of tragedies, lost most of his property and wealth, and his kids. When he returned to the spot of a ship accident that killed his remaining children and nearly his wife, he wrote the Christian worship song, It Is Well With My Soul.

How is it worse? Potentially, depending on individual responses, because Job was returned to a life with more than what he lost, while Horatio Gates Spafford, who wrote the song, didn’t receive his reward until the next life.

How many of us would respond like he did?

Conclusion – Does God really make sure everything turns out good?

After all that, the answer is best put as, Yes, if _______, as long as ________.

The “if” has to do with loving God.

The “as long as” has to do with realizing/acknowledging that what God says is good is also good to us.

The thing about this is that the same answer applies to both the Old and New Testaments. As I mentioned, it’s not so obvious with the example of Joseph.

So, here’s what to look for. When we want to follow God, no matter how strong that feeling/desire is, we will fail sometimes. Maybe we’ll fail a lot from time to time. To me, it feels like the question is how quickly will we return.

Sometimes, like the Israelites in Egypt, held as slaves to Pharaoh, it takes a really long time. Other times, we turn back quickly.

In our three examples, Joseph’s brothers turned back quickly, when the opportunity came. But that chance didn’t come until Joseph was a man and their father was near death. With Job, although he was suffering and not happy with his situation, he persevered (many call it being patient, but I like perseverance better) and never turned away from God. Instead, Job kept on with his desire to speak with God. And Horatio Gates Spafford stuck with God in spite of all that happened to his family.

I wish I could say the same for myself. But I can’t. However, I did turn back. And now, my faith and trust in Him is stronger than ever.

What about those who benefit, appearing to be blessed in spite of their lack of faith or belief in God? Jesus answered that question for us.

Love for Enemies – Matthew

^{Mt 5:43} “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The message here, as it applies to today’s topic, is this. God loves everyone, even those who hate Him. Even those who hate Him still benefit from the sun and the rain and the good that comes from them. We should do the same. So where’s the message? Our goal is to be like Jesus, like our Father in Heaven. Then, one huge difference between them and us is something John wrote about.

Children of God

^{1Jn 2:28} And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

^{1Jn 2:29} If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

^{1Jn 3:1} How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

^{1Jn 3:4} Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

^{1Jn 3:7} Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

You can see much of what we just looked at in this passage. It may seem rather harsh, and yet, it does tell it like it is:

¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are …

From this, we see the manner in which God makes sure everything turns out good for those who love Him. As children of God, we share in His inheritance and we spend eternity with Him. That is the ultimate good. Meanwhile, in this life, if we live by the Spirit (as shown above), we can begin the feel some of the blessings from the future life even in this life. Two of those are the peace and joy from God, which you can read more about in the two posts below.

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The final word then, is that God does make everything turn out for good, for those who love Him. However, it’s very likely that only those who love Him will realize that His plan for us and His outcome really is good.

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Footnotes

• 1Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 8:1–17). Lexham Press.
• 2Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 8:18–30). Lexham Press.