All Things Means All Things

I was driving along with my two older granddaughters the other day.  The oldest is 10 and because I have several others that are younger, there are car seats and boosters in the back.  She had to sit in the front.

We were talking about her dad, my son, and I told her that when he was a little boy, we didn't even go to the store without asking Jesus to keep us safe in the car.  So we said a little prayer.

As we drove along, I hit a spot of ice.  It wasn't bad, just a reminder.  It made my granddaughter nervous.  She wanted to adjust her seat back so if the air bag went of, it wouldn't hurt so bad.

I almost said, "We prayed for God's protection.  We won't wreck."

I almost said, but I didn't.

Just as quickly as that thought came to mind, the thought that we might be involved in a wreck for the benefit of someone else came right behind it.  

The Bible says, 

"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." (Rom 8:28)

This means that, no matter what comes our way as a Christian, God knows. He is involved in it and we can trust Him.

I'm going to give a very extreme example.  Thankfully, God doesn't always have to work this way.

I am from back East but I was living in Oregon when I got the call that my father had been in a horrible fire. He wasn't expected to live and I needed to get home.

Of course I went right away believing God for a miracle all the way.  When I got there, my dad was in a medically induced coma and I couldn't talk to him. 

Then he died.

I was devastated.  He didn't know Jesus. As a matter of fact, he was a very avid atheist.  I had been begging God for years for his salvation.  How could God let him die unsaved?

The next day, I don't even remember how the conversation started, but my brother said, "Don't you know? The neighbor that found him led him to the Lord right there."

I couldn't believe it! 

I actually had my brother take me to the visit the man who was a good Christian. He knew in his heart that my dad wouldn't live through this.

He assured me that he asked my dad if he knew Jesus and he said he didn't.  Then the man asked him if he would like to.  My dad said yes. 

My father prayed a prayer of salvation minutes before the ambulance hauled him off and put him under heavy sedation.

All those years of praying, "Whatever it takes, Lord. Please save my dad!" came back to me.  I wept with gratitude.

God is on the throne and He can be trusted to work all things and I mean all things for our good whether we see the big picture or not. 

If I have prayed for God to keep me safe and then end up in a wreck, I can bet it wasn't because God didn't hear my prayer.  All things are working together for my good.  This promise applies to all the other believers I come across, too. 

And the people who aren't believers? God may just be using a situation I'm in to reach them.  I have, after all, given my life to Him for His use and His glory, have I not?

Let us trust God.  He is good.