When we look back over our lives we can identify moments of incredible highs and devastating lows.  And it can be particularly painful when we think back on the hard moments of our lives filled with suffering.  At times it can be difficult to make sense of our lives and what God is doing.  This can lead us to feel discouraged.  Today though I want to remind each one of us that God works all things together for our good.  So how should we view the highs and lows of our lives?

It can be so easy to think back to difficult, painful moments of our lives with feelings of shame, failure and regret.  Instead, God has given us an incredibly powerful verse that should shape our thinking on these painful moments.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

GOD REDEEMS EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES

We need to view the difficult, painful moments of our lives through the lens of this verse in Romans 8:28.  And this should lead us to embrace those moments, painful as they may be, knowing that ultimately God is using them for our good. What the devil intended to use to try to harm us and destroy us, God takes and redeems.  In His hand, they become tools that refine us to become more like Him! When we look at it in this light then joy can flood our soul because we recognise God’s hand shaping us and refining us even in our darkest moments.

May I encourage you to make this verse the lens through which you view your life?  Let your heart and mouth be filled with praise to God as you worship Him for not just the good moments of your life but the difficult, painful moments too knowing that He redeems absolutely everything.  He never wastes the pain you’ve been through and ultimately uses it for your good!