(Romans 8:28 NASB)  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.

The story is told of an airliner which began to develop trouble in mid-air. One engine began to smoke. Over the speaker came the pilot’s reassuring voice informing the passengers of a small problem. One engine had caught fire, but it had been extinguished. With three remaining engines, the plane would easily reach its destination.

Then a second engine failed. Once again, the pilot calmly assured the passengers there was no danger; two engines would suffice. A third engine failed. Now the pilot informed the passengers that it would be necessary to land short of their destination. Finally, the fourth engine failed, and from their windows the passengers saw the plane’s crew in parachutes descending to the earth.

The pilot’s calm and reassuring voice again came over the speaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, we are having a problem with the airplane. We will need to make an emergency landing. The pilot and crew have abandoned the plane and are parachuting to safety. There is no need to panic. The plane is operating on automatic pilot, and everything is under control … control … control …”

There are times in life when things seem to be “out of control.” At those times atheists and agnostics are quite convinced, following our analogy, that the plane has no pilot. If ever there was a pilot, he has bailed out, leaving them to themselves to face threatening dangers.

We who are Christians believe there is a God. When life goes smoothly for us and God’s blessings are evident, we are tempted to believe we are in control. We may even think we do not need God.

When the bottom falls out and the trials of life seem to be swallowing us up so that we seem to lose control, we may still believe that God is in the cockpit.

But we may begin to question whether God is really in control. We may be tempted to think God’s control over creation might be limited and fallible.

When Paul speaks of the spiritual life in Romans 8, he speaks much of suffering. We who are in Christ need not suffer from guilt or fear, for our sins have been forgiven. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1-4).

When we sin as Christians, and deal with it through confession of sins to God, we need never doubt that we are justified by faith because God’s Spirit dwells within us, bearing witness that we are God’s sons.

Further, because the Spirit of God indwells us, He not only leads us to do the will of God, but He empowers us to do so.

Paul turns in verse 28 to yet another truth which should sustain the Christian in the midst of the suffering and groanings of this present life—the sovereignty of God.

Whatever the Christian sees happening, we may be assured that it is not only under God’s control, but its purpose is to produce what is for God’s glory and for our good.

The sovereignty of God has many avenues of application, but here Paul applies it to suffering.

The truth of which Paul speaks is a truth he believes is universally held by all Christians.

“We know …” A definite note of certainty is here. Paul wanted to teach the Romans a number of truths, truths which, it would seem, he doubted they knew. Why else would he bother to write this very systematic, theological epistle?

Here the sovereignty of God is something Paul presumes all his readers know.

The sovereignty of God should be a very foundational and fundamental doctrine. It must be a doctrine clearly taught which every Christian should know.

“God Works …” God is in control. He is the One who has done all these things so that they are as good as done, even if their final consummation is yet future. This is why he uses the past and not the present or future tense.

“God causes all things to work together”

We must be careful to note that God is not the cause of all things. In particular, He is not the cause of sin. God is the Creator. As such, He created the universe, including this earth and all that is in it. God is the originator of many things.

God is the orchestrator and controller of all that takes place in this world. He either causes or allows all things!

While God permits things to happen which displease Him, He does not allow anything to happen which is contrary to His sovereign purpose.

Taken individually, the events and circumstances God allows may not appear to be of any value or good to the Christian. But Paul does not say that each event is good or even that each incident will produce that which is good.

He informs us that all of the events, working together, produce what is good.

To illustrate: the ingredients which go into a cake are not very tasty when eaten individually. Flour, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt, baking powder, and spices are not something we want to eat one ingredient at a time. But mix all of these together in just the right proportions, and then bake the combined mixture, and you have a delicious treat.

Each event in our life is like one ingredient in a cake. It may not seem good, by itself, but when mixed by God with other correct events, it will produce what is good.

Paul speaks here of God’s sovereignty in terms of His choosing and blending of all of our experiences, in such a way as to produce that which is good. God causes all things to “work together” for good.

This means we should not judge the goodness of God’s work until His program is finished.

Until God’s recipe for our lives is complete, we dare not judge God’s cooking. We had best entrust ourselves to Him as the cook, knowing that He always blends the right ingredients, at the right time, in the right way, and in the right proportions.

God controls what He is doing in the life of one believer in such a way as to harmonize with what He is doing in the lives of all the rest. Such a task is beyond human comprehension. It is a task only a God with infinite power can accomplish.

The word “for” is significant. God does not necessarily bring into our lives those things which are, in and of themselves, good. He often allows things in our lives which are painful, which cause us to groan.

To understand and apply this verse, we need to think through four truths:

1. God has an eternal purpose and He is able to accomplish His purpose.

This truth is foundational to the truth of Romans 8:28. If God doesn’t have a purpose, then He couldn’t work all things according to that purpose.

Or, if He has a purpose, but He’s not able to pull it off, then your trials might be sabotaging His purpose.

God has an eternal purpose that cannot be thwarted.

It’s unthinkable that the Sovereign God created the universe with no purpose or no plan to achieve that purpose. But we don’t need to infer this by logic; the Bible often affirms that God has a purpose that can’t be thwarted.

In the oldest book of the Bible, after all his suffering, Job replies to the Lord (42:2), “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”

In Isaiah 14:24, with regard to the eventual downfall of Israel’s enemy, Assyria, the prophet states, “The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, ‘Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand.”

In Ephesians, after stating how God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and predestined us to adoption as sons (1:4, 5), Paul adds (1:11), “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (See, also, Eph. 3:11.)

B. Sinful people are not able to thwart or frustrate God’s purpose.

After speaking of God as the almighty Creator, who spoke the universe into existence, the psalmist adds (Ps. 33:10-11), “The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.”

So, rather than sinful people frustrating God’s purpose, God frustrates their purpose!

Genesis 37-50 unfolds the moving story of Joseph and his brothers. Their father Jacob favored Joseph, which caused his brothers to hate him. They sold him into slavery in Egypt and lied to their father that a wild beast had killed him.

In the providence of God, Joseph rose from prison to the position of second in command to Pharaoh. In that role, he was able to save his extended family during a long famine.

He later explained to them (Gen. 50:20), “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”

The New Testament tells of the greatest evil that has ever been committed, when sinful men crucified the sinless Son of God. But did these evil men, acting under Satan’s influence, thwart God’s plan?

In Acts 4:27-28 we read the prayer of the early church when they faced persecution: “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”

The wicked men were responsible for their sin, but their sin fulfilled rather than thwarted God’s plan.

This means that no sinful person can thwart God’s purpose or plan for your life.

• The sinful mate who left you for another didn’t ruin God’s plan for your life.
• The drunk driver who killed your loved ones can’t frustrate God’s purpose for their lives or your life.
• The evil person at work who lied about you and got you wrongfully fired didn’t divert God’s purpose for your life.

Conclusion. What happens may not itself be “good,” but God will make it work to our ultimate good, to meet His ultimate goal for our life.

Suffering will still bring pain, loss, and sorrow, and sin will bring shame. But under God’s control, the eventual outcome will be for our good.

God works behind the scenes, ensuring that even in the middle of mistakes and tragedies, good will result for those who love him.

At times this will happen quickly, often enough to help us trust the principle. But there will also be events whose results for good we will not know until eternity.

Paul knew this from his own experience: “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12 niv); I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 niv).