Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 9 | Day 3
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Pray that God would open your eyes to wonderful things from His word today.
Bible Reading: Romans 8:28-30
Read these verses three times slowly.
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.For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Reflection & Questions
By Ken Mullette
I was not a good student during my adolescence. There were only a few subjects that I looked forward to each day, History, Math, and Lunch. For the subject of Math, I always felt a sense of comfort that it involved an element of fact. Today’s reading begins with Paul saying that, for people who love and trust God, everything in life—good and bad—works together for their ultimate good.
While it’s a bit unconventional to express a theological concept as a mathematical formula, this is what I see as a fact to know.
All Events + God’s Plan = Good
Here’s what each part means:
- All Events: Every event or circumstance you experience, whether it’s good or bad.
- God’s Plan: The idea that God uses all these events to create a positive result in the end.
- Good: The positive outcome or benefit that comes from everything happening in your life.
The formula shows that all the events in life, when viewed through the lens of God’s plan, ultimately lead to good for those who love Him. This fact doesn’t mean that everything that happens is good. Rather, God can use all circumstances to bring about a positive outcome in the long run for those who are committed to Him.
- How does the concept that “All Events + God’s Plan = Good” affect the way you view challenging situations in your life?
- In what ways do you see yourself growing or changing in alignment with the idea of being “conformed to the image of His Son”?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: Romans 8:28-30
Read these verses three times slowly.
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.For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Reflection & Questions
How many of you just love math? Even if you don’t, there’s a good chance that you understand the basics of an additional problem. When you add a number plus another number, you get an even bigger number! (Unless you are working with negative numbers, but that’s a lesson for another day!)
One of the great things about math problems is that there is always an element of fact to the answer. 2+2=4; it always = 4. That’s a fact. Today’s verses have a similar math problem that equals a fact:
All Events + God’s Plan = Good
Here’s what each part means:
- All Events: This means every event or experience you have in life, whether it’s good or bad, PLUS….
- God’s Plan: God can and will use ALL those events to create a positive result in the end, EQUALS…. Good: The positive result or benefit that comes from everything that happens in your life.
This “math” formula shows that all events that happen in your life (even the ones that seem terrible), when you add in God’s ability to make beauty out of bad things, can become amazingly good for those who love Him.
Like when you got paired up with the new kid at school for a project instead of the classmate you really wanted as a partner and it turns out the new kid is super funny and becomes your best friend!
This doesn’t mean that everything that happens is good. No. Definitely not. But God can use all the things (even bad ones) that happen in life to bring good to those who are His children.
- Can you think of a time when you experienced something that you thought was just the worst and it turned out to be pretty great after all?
Pray
Ask God to help you be able to see the good even when the bad seems so big.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
