Have you ever found yourself in a place where you just stop and say, “How did I end up here?” or “How did I miss that?!” or “I was so stupid! If only I hadn’t screwed that up…”? We all make mistakes, and we all face things we wish we had done differently. But what does God say about this?

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

But does it really mean everything??? Do ALL things work together for good? It seems like this scripture gets thrown around a lot, especially to bring comfort when things don’t go according to plan. But what does it really mean? Is it just a nice message to make you feel better or will God truly redeem all of your mistakes, hardships and mistreatment you have suffered? Let’s find out!

Notice, it says God causes all things to work together for good. Not YOU! So, do you let Him do His work? In reality, He loves to work things out. He loves to cause your face to light up in amazement, shock and awe! He loves to do the impossible, and He loves to cause all those around you to see He is real, alive and active in your life.

Still, it says ALL things… so what does that include? Could it possibly mean all things? What about…

• The hell I’m in because I lost my job?
• The pain from my childhood?
• Embezzlement from my business?
• Life savings lost in the stock market?
• The back pain causing my suffering every day?
• My failing marriage?
• Foreclosure on my house?

I know, by now you’re saying, “Come on, there’s no way He causes ALL things to work together for good!”

Well, He doesn’t for everybody… “He causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.” (Romans 8:28)  He’s not talking about the kind of love you have for Mexican food or your new jeans. He’s talking about real love.

The kind of love you may have briefly experienced: Remember your first love? All you could think about was that person. Your heart would skip a beat when you saw him or her. You would spend hours on the phone, just listening to each other breathe. Maybe it happened when you saw your baby for the first time and you wondered how you could possibly love someone this much.

It’s the kind of love that makes your heart ache. You long for that person. This kind of love consumes your thoughts, your mouth, your eyes, your heart.

That kind of love produces respect, honor, adoration, dedication, devotion and discipline. It causes you to say, “I don’t ever want to hurt this person! I don’t ever want this person to be disappointed in me.” You crave intimate, passionate, focused time with that person.

He makes all things work together for good for those who LOVE Him. So, do you love Him?

Let’s move on to the last part of that verse: “…to those who are called according to His purpose.” You say, “What if I’m not called to His purpose? How do I know if I’m called?”

I used to look for someone important to tell me whether I was called. I thought a human who was super-spiritual had to somehow confirm God loved me and called me to His purpose. You may be in that same place, feeling the same way I did.

So, how do you know if you’re called to His purpose? Well, look for the signs! Here are some obvious ones:

• You’re reading this message right now!
• You are hungry to learn more about Him.
• You want to get closer to Him.
• You desire to do good and not evil. Even though you mess up sometimes, your heart is rooted in good.
• You’re giving it your best shot to be a better example of His kingdom.
• You give to the orphan, the widow and the sick.
• You talk to Him and you want to hear His voice.
• You can feel His spirit of conviction.

Those are just a few of the many signs. The hearts of some have so hardened they hate God, blame Him or simply have no interest in Him.

So look at your life and journey. Have you noticed any of these signs? Are you growing in Him? Pursuing Him? Working as unto Him in everything you do? Is your work devoted to Him? Are you walking by faith, not by fear? Do you see evidence of Him in your life?

Then you are clearly called to His purpose, and He will cause all things to work together for your good, because you love Him!

I never imagined there was a purpose to my horrible past. I was abused and violated in every way while growing up. I was a hopeless failure, a homeless woman who was a drunk, a druggy and a whore. I never thought a purpose was behind my failures, my health problems, my broken relationships… or even for making millions of dollars.

But the purpose was to prove He really does cause ALL things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called by Him! It was so I would reach out to Him, surrender to Him and let Him be my Heavenly Father. It was to create a story you could relate to, in order to draw you to Him. It was to build my faith and yours, so He would be known all over the earth!

My friend, when He works to bring all things together for good, there is no question in your mind HE did it and He is FOR you, not against you! This builds your faith like crazy and makes you an unstoppable force against darkness!

So, be encouraged today and know He really does cause ALL things to work together for good!

And speaking of encouragement… do you know someone who could use some encouragement like this today? Especially now, it’s important to encourage one another and spur each other on to greatness! So take a few minutes and send this message. You have no idea who may need the encouragement today! Even I can use your encouragement, so please let me know your thoughts on any of our social media sites.

In great faith,

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