Part five in a series on anger. This is an excerpt from a Seminary research paper. For the full context, please read parts 1-4 available on our blog.

Christians should rest in the sovereign rule of God in every moment, including those when life does not go according to plan. He is faithful to provide all that his people need in every moment and so we need not be given to anxiety. This is a source of rest and comfort that, when things do not go the way we had hoped, that God has not abandoned us. He is working in our lives for our ultimate good. 

Part five focuses on the work God in the lives of his people and how all moments, particularly the painful ones, work to accomplish God's goals in his people's lives.

Romans 8:28-30

The context for Romans 8:28-30 is human suffering. Paul writes just a few verses prior that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18). Life is filled with difficulties and we would be hard pressed to identify one that doesn’t involve unmet expectations or undesirable circumstances. This leads both those who profess faith and those who do not to ask “where is God? I thought he was good?” These questions require reflection on Paul’s words in V. 28-29:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

Paul asserts everything God does is for the good of the believer. This helps deepen our understanding of James 4:13-15. These two texts taken together shows that what God orders and plans for those who love him is for their good. This helps us to answer both of the aforementioned questions in the affirmative. God is near because he is working in all of life’s circumstances. Douglas Moo says “it is the sovereign guidance of God that is presumed as the undergirding and directing force behind all the events of life” and he is doing so for the good of those who love him. Therefore, we can say that God is good because he is working to accomplish good in the lives of those who love him. Specifically, he has called sinners to himself for a particular purpose and all things, including hardship, work toward the achievement of that purpose. Thus it is essential for us to consider the end to which he works.

We may ask at this point: how can my undesirable circumstances work for my good? The answer to this question is found in V. 29-30. God’s purpose is that his people be conformed into the likeness of Jesus. We know that Christ suffered terribly during his earthly ministry. The greatest of his sufferings was being forsaken by the Father during his crucifixion. His circumstances were the most undesirable that anyone could experience. Yet, even in his sufferings, he trusted the Father. God, through our own difficulties, grows this trust in his people, forming them into the likeness of his Son. Therefore, we can say with Paul that our undesirable circumstances are working good in those who love God. He works through our trials to form us into the likeness of our Savior.

Jesus perfectly trusted and perfectly obeyed the Father throughout his life and ministry. Jesus' perfections were revealed through his trials and temptations, revealing him to be the perfect substitute for sinners (see Hebrews 5:8-9). By faith, we are joined to him and share in all the blessings he won through his obedience. Being joined to him, we’re conformed into his likeness and our difficulties play a significant role in that.

It’s through our various trials and sufferings, and our victories and failures with sin, that God matures faith in us. These are tools in his hand to deepen our trust in him and increase our joy in his commands. Peter points to the way he burns away our imperfections saying in 1 Peter 1:6-7:

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The difficulties that Christians face burn away our love for the things of this world. They produce in the people of God longings for the age to come when reality will exceed all our expectations. They draw us closer to God in faith, trusting him to provide what is best for us, and drive us to pursue greater obedience to him lest we should come up short of God's promised rest (Hebrews 4:1-13). This points us to the ultimate end to which God is working in the lives of his people.

God secures us in Christ and brings us to glorification. Paul writes that he calls his people and justifies his people which is to say that he makes peace with his people. Those with whom God makes peace will experience the blessedness of a future glory. God’s people have salvation now through Christ (we are justified) and will experience the fullness of our salvation in the age to come. That will be the day when our circumstances will be maximally desirable. We will be with God. There will be no more struggles with sin or sorrows from the things we had planned and hoped for going awry. There will be no more pain or disappointment. There will only be maximum joy as we behold our God face to face and rest in the glory of his presence.

Therefore, Romans 8:28-30 allows us to ask if our anger over unmet expectations is the result of our elevating the wrong things to the position of our ultimate hope. So often, we grow angry because things we want like stable marriages, health, children, etc. are kept from us. Christopher Ganski addresses this by pointing out that “while these are good things and worthy objects of penultimate hope which provide real meaning… they cannot give us the fullest, deepest meaning for which we were created.”

We were made to know God deeply and intimately. Our sins have kept us from this but God has acted in Christ to draw us back to himself. He has forgiven our sins and brought us close. He continues to work, through the difficult moments in our lives, to burn away all the loves we have that compete against him as our ultimate love. This is an act of mercy and kindness to us from who loves us and gave up his Son for us that we may have life and have it abundantly. He does not want less for you. He wants so much more than you and I can fathom. This he has supplied in Christ.

God can be trusted when life does not go the way we want. He is working for the ultimate good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. He is working for our glorification which is the blessed hope for those who know Christ and the best outcome for mankind.

Conclusion

We are prone to anger when life doesn’t go the way that we want. This produces grumbling, bitterness, and laxity toward sin in our hearts. However, God can be trusted when life does not go the way we plan. He is near to his people, working for their ultimate good in all of life’s circumstances. He provides us with true hope through Jesus. He is working in every moment of his people’s lives to bring us into the fullness of his promises to us in Christ. Therefore, God’s people need not grow angry when life does not go as planned. God is good and working for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes.