Does God Cause All Things To Work For Our Good?

Does God Cause All Things To Work For Our Good?

A common quote by believers when someone is going through challenges will be Romans 8:28.

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. - Rom 8:28

It is assumed that God will automatically cause all things to work together for good for the believers. It sounds assuring and comforting, but it is not true. We need to read the Word in context.

The word 'And' tells us that there is an important passage (aka principle) before this verse.

Now in the same way the Spirit also 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. - Rom 8:26-27

The word 'helps' in the Greek means 'to take hold with at the side'. It is to 'cooperate with' or 'assist jointly to perform some task'. In other words, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧/𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫. He doesn't do it on your behalf. You do it WITH Him.

Hence, "the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words..." does not mean that the Spirit prays for us automatically. It requires our partnership. Many charismatics teach that it's about praying in tongues. The word 'groanings' comes from the word 'moan, groan, sigh...' It may include tongues, but it is not limited to tongues.

As long as we commune with God (in various ways), it can be considered groaning (due to the pressure from the circumstances). 

When we partner with the Holy Spirit to pray, He knows what our heart is feeling/thinking/going through, yet He has the mind of Christ (Rom 8:27). Therefore, He will intercede for (with) us according to the mind of Christ aka the will of God aka the Word of God.

𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧, God will cause all things to work together for our good.

The next time when someone is going through challenges, do not give them a blind assurance on Romans 8:28. Instead, pray for them. Also, encourage them to commune with Him to turn the situation around for their good.

P.S: If things don’t work together for our good, it’s not because God is not doing His job, but we fail to understand Romans 8:26-28.