The second truth in this verse is that God is working for our good! It may not seem it in the middle of the wilderness because we are hurting but God is in control! This verse promises that God is not passive in your life beloved. He is WORKING for your good. This promise is echoed by the Prophet Jeremiah:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
God's plans are not to harm you. His plans are to give you hope and a future. We of course often cannot see past the storm we are going through in our present to understand that it may be helping us in our future. That is why it is always important to remember that God sees all time. We must hold onto this when it seems to our momentary eye that something has not gone our way. We could bemoan that we did not get that promotion at work but God sees the end result of that promotion. Perhaps it results in failure of some kind. Perhaps it takes you away from God and the calling He has for you. We only see the moment of disappointment not the eventual disaster that might ensue. We could bemoan the end of a relationship because of how we feel in the present. God however sees the end result of the relationship if it were to continue at that point. Perhaps there is more growth for the two involved before the relationship would have worked. Perhaps God knows that it ultimately would never have worked. He sees the outcome, we only feel the moment. We could say "why me" when we are going through a sickness in our body and not see the blessings we can be to someone in the future who is going through the same thing that God sees us through today. We have to trust that God knows better. Why? Because He is working on you for your good! He has the plan for your future; we only have the disappointment and pain of the present. Remember that God is His word and His word is:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119: 105
Note that it only lights by our feet. We convince ourselves that we want to see the great future God has for us but the truth is that if we actually saw it, we probably would never get out of bed! How many times have we looked back on a past wilderness experience and understood what God was doing and how we grew and matured from it? God is working for your Good beloved, right now He is working. You may not feel it in the desert but Romans 8:28 promises it is so.
The last truth in this verse is that not only is God working
for our good, but He is working in ALL things for that good! There is nothing
that escapes God. There is nothing that surprises God. He knows exactly where
you are in your storm. He knows exactly what you need to learn and how you need
to grow in your walk as a result of the storm. We can sometimes think that our
circumstance is somehow below God's radar. This verse assures us that nothing
is! He is also building your witness. Your experiences can end up being
invaluable to the future work that He has for you. We can look at one moment in
the life of Peter as a model for our behavior in our storms. The disciples were
in a boat heading across the lake to
A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. John 6: 18
And there we can also be, rowing along in our lives when we find the wind picks up and the waters grow rough. The same story in the Gospel of Mark tells us that the disciples were straining because the wind was "against them." Isn't that how we feel in our storms too? The wind is against us and we are straining so desperately. Sometimes it can feel as if everything is against us and the strain takes everything we have to just to keep our head above the waves. The Gospel of Matthew tells the same story and continues: