Lately Romans 8:28 has been on my mind. "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." I've been reading a book Stonewall Jackson's Verse by H. Rondel Rumberg and it focuses on this verse since it was Stonewall's favorite Bible verse. In the book, Rumberg pulls this verse apart and exams it in two parts. We know God works all things for good but to whom? The answer to this question is found in this verse, the first part of the answer is to those that love God. If you are a child of God you will love him for the work he has done in your life. God initiates this love, "We love, because He first loved us." 1 Jn 4:19 However, not only is God the initiator, God also gives us the ability to love Him back. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the ability to love God. If we love God, He will work everything together for our good. The second part of this verse says that He works for the good of those he has called. If God has called you, He will be working everything for your good. One of the most encouraging things I found in this book so far is Stonewall Jackson's trust in God even through the trying times in his life. Stonewall Jackson trusted in the sovereignty of God even when it seemed that everything was against him. When Jackson was a child, his father and sister died of typhoid fever. His mother remarried, however because of financial issues Jackson and his sister were sent to live with their uncle. Later, Jackson's mother and stepbrother died. When Jackson was older, he married Elinor Junkin. However, a year after they had been married she died in childbirth. Jackson's child was a stillborn. Jackson remarried and his new wife gave birth to a daughter who died less than a month later. Even through all this Jackson clung to Romans 8:28 and trusted the words he read. Through the midst of all this tragedy Jackson trusted in the sovereignty of God. Jackson may not have understood why these things happened but he did understand that God was working it for good. This knowledge gave him a security so that he could rest in the knowledge that Christ was in control and not himself. If we truly believe that Scripture is the inerrant word of God, then verses such as Romans 8:28 can give us such a calm resting through trials in the knowledge that God is in control and working this for our good. If we never understand why we have to go through the trials we are going through, we should be confident that God will get us through it and will work it out.
