My favorite verse in the Bible, one that still gives me goose-bumps is: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Almighty God is sovereign over all things and He is untouchable. Nothing can match His Glory, strength, power, might, knowledge, forgiveness, blessings, riches, love, mercy, grace, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, skill, handiwork, greatness, holiness, righteousness, availability, sensitivity, patience, tenderness, peace, graciousness, gentleness, self-control, joy, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, strategic ways, agape love, bravery, consistency, intentionality, humbleness, willingness, sympathy, empathy, beauty, authority, and anything else you can possibly think of. HE IS AWESOME!
This verse starts out with a question, “what then shall we say to these things?” What things is Paul referring too? The root of this question has the answer in verse 28 preceding it.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This verse brings out the concept of predestination. You must be called by God to be in His eternal family. Predestination is a touchy subject because the Bible is clear that God chooses who He chooses. Many feel like God is a dictator and is using humans as pawns for His own pleasure and satisfaction. This cannot be further from the truth. You must look at scripture as a whole to understand who God chooses. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” If God wishes that none would perish, then He most certainly would not condemn anyone to hell for the fun of it. God knew before the beginning of creation who would choose to love Him. Those are the elect people that He has called to do His will. God would never leave anyone out of eternity in heaven if they genuinely love Him and are repentant for their sins. That is what this verse says. Right smack dab in the middle of 1 John 4:16, it says, “God is love.” Love is the complete opposite of evil. God is incapable of doing evil. When you have a clear understanding of predestination, Romans 8:28 makes perfect sense. “For those who love God all things work together for good.” If you choose to follow and love God, all things will work together for good, even when things seem hopeless.
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