All things!

It was her daughter’s school professional day. Being a single mother of 2, it hasn’t been easy taking care of the children alone since her husband left her. Funmi tries her best to provide the basics and some extra for them but sometimes cash is tight. Like right now. The children have been asked to dress up in the outfit of whatever profession they wanted to be in future. Of course that meant she had to get her daughter a lawyer’s outfit as her 6 year old daughter has always said she wanted to be a lawyer. But the lady who was going to make that outfit said it would cost her N6,500! That was just too much for her! So she came up with an idea – dress up her daughter as a school teacher. She will wear that Sunday skirt suit her aunty bought for her and give her a notebook and pen to hold.

So on the day, pupils were asked to come out and talk about their professions. Out came the doctors, Lawyers, Engineers even Pilots. The parents cheered each child warmly. Then out came her daughter, she was alone because no one else taught to dress up their child as a teacher. As she stood taking about the benefits of being a teacher, all the teachers of the school cheered, came out and hugged her! Oh, and she got money from the Proprietor of the school, lots of it with cheers of “Yes, that is the most authentic profession” LOL. Needless to say, Funmi was one proud mama that day. Not only did her daughter end up looking good as a teacher, she ended up making as much as N6,000 from the money doled out to her by the proud teachers. No one could guess the reason why she was so dressed was because they had no money! And see how it all turned out!

That could have been a hypothetical story but the reality of it is God always work things out for our good. Sometimes when it looks bleak and hopeless, with no help in sight but have you noticed how those seemingly hopeless situations end up working on our behalf? You’re not sure? I dare you to take a stock of your life right now. Tell me you can’t see when God has turned the bad situation for your good. I can tell you that for me He always does. It may not be how I want it, or when I want it. It may not even be where I want it but one thing I know is He does it eventually.

Romans 8: 28 - And we know that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. NKJV

The truth of that scripture resonates loudly – ALL THINGS! Not some, not few, not a handful. ALL. The reason we don’t take the words literally is because we forget the next part of the scripture – for those who love God. You see the problem is not God. He always stands true to His word. The problem is because we love God as humans and judge His faithfulness based on our love for Him. And because we operate as humans, we sometimes are out of love with Him and then judge ourselves based on this scripture.

I love God = All things work
I don’t love God = Not all things work

Seems logical right? But we forget the concluding part of that scripture – We are called according to His purpose. He called us, He chose us and therefore He is committed to us!

So on the days you feel ‘out of love’, remember He called you to Himself and loved you first. And that love propels you to love Him back. And for certain, ALL things WILL work together for YOUR GOOD, no matter how bad it is now. I believe that!

by sis Deby