Lesson 19: God’s Love is Good Because He Keeps On Blessing Us

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

When it comes to the issue of being blessed by God or working all things together for good, God does it for those who love Him. For His children. But notice what the text did not say. It does not say He works out some things in your life for good. It does not say He works out most things for good. It says He works out all things for good! But that is still not all. Neither did the text say God would only work out all things for good of those who lived perfect lives! Therefore, that means God does not bless us because of our behavior, but despite our behavior. That is good news!

You see, even though God demonstrates this truth again and again in our lives, we still do not believe Him! Because of this we needlessly get all worked up in fear and worry, when the whole time we do not have to because there is ample evidence of the goodness of God all around us.

I was deserted by co-workers in Chicago several years ago and had to make a mad dash to the airport. When all was said and done it all worked together for good because I ended up changing seats and sitting next to a Christian Radio personality who proceeded for the next couple of hours to convince me to go back to school and do my graduate studies. Soon after that I resigned from a current Pastorate and took a sabbatical to go to Seminary, which led me to take on another Pastorate where, unbeknownst to me, God birthed a media ministry, which led to a full-time global teaching ministry where now the Gospel is going out to over 200 countries worldwide! Personally, I am glad that those people ditched me in Chicago.

We do not need to fear and worry, no matter how bad the circumstances might be. The people of Wedgwood Baptist Church learned that God directs circumstances:

To enter the Church sanctuary, the gunman walked past the children's playground, which should have been full of kids, but for some reason every single children's and preschool class was running late so no one had made it to the playground yet.

The gunman fired over 100 bullets into a crowd of more than 400, but only 14 people were hit, and he did not shoot the over 60 bullets he still had with him.

The bottom fell off the pipe bomb he threw, and the bomb landed without ever exploding.

One of the youths that was wounded had scoliosis. Therefore, the curve in her spine directed the bullet away from major organs, saving her from serious injury.

One of the people in the sanctuary at the time was a paramedic, and he was able to stop bleeding and stabilize injured people before the emergency crews arrived.

None of the adults who died had children.

All 7 victims were not just Christians, but bold Christians who were passionate about their faith.

At several schools, students met around their flagpoles the next day. At one school 25 students accepted Christ, and 110 at another. A teacher led 22 students to Christ in her classroom.

God continues to bless us out of His Goodness.

Thought Question: How do you “look beyond” the circumstances to see God provision?