All things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15)
Let me encourage you to read these words from the inspired pen of the apostle Paul again; I am sure you will be eternally comforted, regardless of where this message finds you.
Let us first take notice what Paul did not say. Paul did not say, “Some things are for your sakes.” Paul did not say, “Many things are for your sakes.” He did not even say, “Most things are for your sakes.” Paul, writing under divine inspiration, said that “ALL things are for your sakes.”
Take a moment to meditate on and marinate in this verse and see if you don’t hear an echo of another of Paul’s most comforting messages —
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Here again, notice what Paul did not say. Paul did not say, “In some things God works for the good of those who love him” or “In many things God works for the good of those who love him.” He did not even say, “In most things God works for the good of those who love him.” Rather, Paul’s message, which was divinely inspired by God the Holy Spirit, is that “In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him.”
Here is the way I like to put it, and it might serve you well to write this down and hang it up somewhere in your home or office where you can see it each day –
ALL THINGS are for your sake and ALL THINGS work for your good!
The comfort in this truth is as supernatural as it is satisfying. When God says something, it is absolutely settled because God is sovereign and in control of all things at all times and in all places. Nothing happens by chance. Life is not a random roll of the dice, as the world would have us believe. Nothing happens to you that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands, all of it having been sent for your good and for His glory.
Now, there is no place in Scripture where you’ll read that all things are good and pleasant and pleasing to the self. Sickness is not good. Storm winds are not pleasant. Suffering is not pleasing. But all things are for your sake and all things work for your good.
To know this truth is to know the secret to living a life marked by the joy of the Lord. To be sure, facing the waves of challenge in this life can be very hard. But a day is coming when we shall cross the Jordan and find ourselves with Jesus, and in that moment we will know the truth of another inspired passage from Paul: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 