Perhaps the most oft-quoted of all God's promises is the one found in Romans 8:28 (KJV): "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

However, many people make the mistake of quoting it like this: "all things work together for good," as if no matter what happens to any person on the street, it will all work out for good, no matter who you are, what you believe, or how you live your life. WRONG! By omitting the conditions on the promise, they misunderstand the promise. There are two conditions: "them that love God," and "them who are the called according to his purpose." This is actually two ways of saying the same thing-- the promise is limited to Christians. Christians are the ones who have chosen to love God through faith in Jesus Christ, and they are the ones God has chosen to accept by his grace, "the called according to his purpose."

But even Christians misuse this promise, by putting all of the emphasis on material things. Often Christians will say something like this: "I'm sorry you lost your job, but 'all things work together for good,' and I'm sure God has a better job for you." Thus they assume that the "good" that God promises is material, when the context of this passage makes it very clear that God's greatest good for us is spiritual. Notice the very next verse, Romans 8:29 (NIV) says that God's purpose is that we be "conformed to the likeness of his [God's] Son." In other words, God is not saying "be like Mike," God is saying "be like Christ." So it may be that if you lose your job, what God intends is for you to spend more time with your family, get back into church, and learn to depend upon God. You may never have a job that pays as much as the one before, but through it all, you will be more like Christ, "conformed to the likeness of his Son."

This promise works much the same way that baking a cake does. I would never care to eat a raw egg, or a cup of flour, or a stick of butter, but when my wife mixes that up with some other ingredients, and puts it under the heat and pressure of the oven, it comes out as a delicious cake. In the same way, I may not enjoy some of the things that happen in my life, but as a believer in Jesus Christ, God is taking the pressures and heat I'm under, and developing character in me and preparing me to be used by Him for a greater good.