We are continuing our look at Romans 8:28: "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." Yesterday we looked at the phrase "all things." Today, we are going to examine "work together for good." This can be difficult to accept while in the midst of a personal crisis. To understand this phrase we must have an understanding of God's Providence. Providence may be defined as "literally foresight, but is generally used to denote God’s preserving and governing all things by means of secondary causes." God has a perfect plan but He uses secondary causes to bring that plan about. What is a secondary cause? A secondary cause can be anything in the natural world that God chooses to use. For example, a car breaks down and creates a traffic jam. You are in a hurry to get some where. The secondary cause, i.e. the traffic delay due to a car malfunction, is used to bring about God's plan for your life for you to have more patience.
Adam Clarke explained this as follows: "All these things work together; while they are working, God's providence is working, his Spirit is working, and they are working TOGETHER with him. And whatever troubles, or afflictions, or persecutions may arise, God presses them into their service; and they make a part of the general working, and are caused to contribute to the general good of the person who now loves God, and who is working by faith and love under the influence and operation of the Holy Ghost." God uses the secondary causes in your life to work something for your good. It is good that you have patience; the problem is that you would rather just take a "patience pill" as opposed to dealing with the secondary causes used to create that patience.
Today as you go about your day, watch for the secondary causes. See what God is working for good in your life by looking at the secondary causes. You may just feel a little bit better about that traffic jam when you see God's hand at work for your good in your life.
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