For thought and meditation

[rl69]

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… ROMANS 8:28
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son

[square butte]

Amen - Thank you for the good start to this day

[Ickisrulz]

Just one fine point...

Romans 8:28 does not say God controls all our circumstances. It says he works through and within our circumstances to benefit us.

Our circumstances are largely controlled by our own decisions and actions. Added to these are outside influences such as other peoples' actions and events that are entirely beyond our control (e.g., catastrophic weather), but effect us daily. The idea that God controls everything in our lives (because he is all powerful) leads people to question God's goodness rather than understand the seriousness and consequences of man's own actions (free will).

The 50-year-old lifetime smoker dying of lung cancer is in circumstances he alone created. A couple who mismanaged their income, lost their home and declared bankruptcy can only look in the mirror to place blame. God can be with people is these times and use them for their good, but he cannot be blamed.

[Wayne Smith]

The obverse of this of course is that God never fails. I fail, but His will always is done, if not through me then in another way.

[USMC87]

Amen, God works all things good or bad that we consider for our good and His glory.

[Pine Baron]

"The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us."
This, right here.

[rl69]

Great thought pine baron

[Boaz]

"The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us."
This, right here.

You summed it up nicely Pine Baron ! Good comments all round .