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

Too often this Scripture is reduced to a glib cliché uttered by not-so-well intended people eager to get on with their own first world problems. “Hey, it’ll all work out! Hang in there!”

But these holy words are dripping with the pain of suffering. Suffering that goes to the very core of creation. Suffering that so weakens the believer he must fully rely upon the Holy Spirit to put voice to his prayers. Suffering that is made bearable only by an unseen hope. (8:18-27)

Hurting to the heart, the believer who loves the God who first loved him understands something. He understands that despite the suffering of the moment, all the things swirling around him and even inside of him are working together, synergizing into something good and beneficial. Not the good of earthly ease, but the good of eternal glory.

Why such certainty? Because those who are called are called according to God’s purpose. God has set forth the believer’s destiny, ultimately to be glorified as sure as it has already happened. (8:29-30) And what God has purposed, God will accomplish!

Romans 8:28 isn’t about “hanging in there”. Romans 8:28 is about suffering and dying in hope of good, namely an eternal weight of glory.

So be strengthened in this hope. His purpose will not fail. He will complete what He has begun in you, not in spite of what you face, but through it.