For Your Good
Wednesday’s Verse:
From Romans 8:28 ESV
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
There are days I find this verse comforting. There are days I struggle to believe it at all.
Saint Paul doesn’t say that ALL things are good. He says God is working for good IN ALL things. Even sickness. Even loss. Even our sins we’re not proud of. Even heartbreaking disappointment. None of those things are “good.” They are reminders that this is not as it should be. That this world is broken. But our Lord is not contained by its walls.
At the heart of this promise is the cross. On Good Friday, none of it looked “good.” Jesus was betrayed by his own friends. Mocked. Beaten. Crucified. Death won the day. Hope was buried in a tomb. But God raised Jesus to new life. He used hatred and bitterness to accomplish the greatest display of love there is: your salvation.
God works like that.
According to Lutheran teaching, we do not suffer God’s judgment for being sick or going through hard times. He takes every difficulty and uses it to draw us back to Christ. To train us to trust not in ourselves but in His mercy. To strengthen our faith through His Word and Sacraments. To remind us that our identity is not found in our accomplishments or comfort, but in our baptism where He took claim on our lives as His own.
The good that Paul is talking about may not always mean an easy life. It is far deeper than that: conformity to Christ. Preservation in faith. And a safe return to our Father’s house.
Today may not make sense to you. You may never know how your struggle could be used for good. But what you do know is this: the God who gave His only Son to die for you will not waste your suffering.
You are held close in Christ’s pierced hands. And His hands are good hands.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord God, when I am tempted to believe that there is no good in what is happening to me, keep me close to Your Son. Remind me that You have called me by name, redeemed me by His blood, and promised that You would never leave nor forsake me. Use every trial to conform me more to Christ and bring me safely home, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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