It’s All Good

Our family has been blessed to have five elder parents between 82 and 92 still alive and well and in their right minds. A few weeks ago we received a call that my father-in-love was rushed to the hospital and was in the Intensive Care Unit. A few hours later we received a call that my mother-in-love was taken to the Emergency Room. They are 92 and 91 respectively and live 500 miles away from one another. 

I called my mother to ask her to pray. I implored her, “Please stay home because if you go out, you might slip on a banana peel and hurt yourself! I just couldn’t take that today.” We laughed.

I then sent a text to my prayer warriors, the Elders Council of Women at Bridgeway, to ask them to pray also. As I was trying not to worry and pray myself, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses, Romans 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.” 

I asked God, “Really…how is this all good? What are the chances that two people who live 500 miles apart, who are both so dearly loved by us, are terribly ill at the same time?”

God then reminded me that it’s His working in this situation that will bring about good. It’s not my overwhelmed feelings in the moment, looking at what I can see, that will change the outcome. He reminded me that they are His children, saved and being conformed to the likeness of His Son day by day. He assured me He is with them; He is for them; He is, in fact, working all of it together for their good and His glory. 

So I found the space to breathe, and breathe again more deeply, and to trust God is working it together for good because they truly love Him and have been called according to His purpose.

Trusting God changed my perspective. It’s funny how taking a step back opens our hearts and minds to change how we are looking at the world in front of us. I was able to then see a longer-term view of ALL the ways God had been working for their good: 

• They have lived through segregation in the South.
• They married and raised God-honoring families.
• They fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
• They received a college education against all odds.
• They advocated for the least of these by feeding and educating those who would otherwise be left behind.
• They rose to the top in their respective professions.
• They lived and actively engaged in the Civil Rights Movement.
• They lived and actively engaged in the election of the first black President.

Throughout their lives, God has been working all things together for their good and His glory. This scary day was one day in their lives of over 300,000 days. God was working then, and He is still working today. My trust in God changed how I saw the circumstances. It gave me hope!

Today I encourage you, as you might be facing circumstances that seem impossible, to put your trust in God. First and most importantly, surrender your life to him to be called according to His purposes. Make him your Lord and Savior. Then, as difficulty comes, you can find comfort in Romans 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.” We have each been given a finite number of days to live. Are we living them by allowing God to work for our good because we love Him and have been called according to His purposes?

The end of this story, which began with worry, followed by prayer and trusting in God’s promise for working all things together for their good, is that they are both recovered from their illnesses. They are both back in their respective homes, healthy and living purposeful lives in Christ, still. He is in fact working all things together for good! If you know the Lord as Savior, it is all good! 

If you want to grow in your faith and understanding of the God who works all things together for your good and His glory, I encourage you to join one of our Wednesday Night Alive classes where you can work out your faith and learn to rest in His peace.

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