By Dr. Tony Evans

Have you ever gone to your refrigerator in search of a stick of butter to eat? You felt the hunger gnawing at the inside of your stomach and so you thought, “If I could only get a bite of butter, I would be fine.” 

Probably not. Because butter all by itself doesn’t taste very good. Neither does flour. Or salt. Or baking soda. Or most cooking ingredients, for that matter. Yet when a master chef gathers them all together and blends them just right, then heats them for the proper time, the result is something wonderful. 

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” But most people only quote the first half: “All things work together for good.” And the problem is that all things do not work together for good. The things that work together for good are those things in connection with those people who love God and are called according to His purpose. 

Only when you are living your life according to His purpose—rather than your own—will He cause all the things in your life to blend together for your good and His glory. When you are committed to Him and seeking His purpose, He will mix all of the things in your life—the sweet and the bitter—and turn them into something divine.

Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder, president of The Urban Alternative, and author of over 100 books, booklets, and Bible studies.