All Things Work Together for Good / Dr. Ernie Schmidt

<p>Dr. Ernie Schmidt anchors his message in Romans 8:28 — &quot;all things work together for good to those who love God&quot; — and then illustrates that promise through a series of biblical narratives: Israel in the wilderness, Job, the man born blind, Lazarus, and Paul and Silas in Philippi. His aim is to show students that God&#39;s trials always serve a purpose, and that purpose is always good.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Scripture Texts</strong></p><p>Romans 8:25-28; Deuteronomy 8:2-3; Job 1-2; John 9:1-3; John 11:1-6; Acts 16:19-31</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Main Points or Ideas</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Trials teach us to know God&#39;s Word</strong> - Deuteronomy 8 records Moses reminding Israel that God led them through forty years of wilderness, allowing hunger and providing manna — unknown food, deliberately given — so they would learn that man does not live by bread alone but by every word from God&#39;s mouth. God makes his people hungry in order to create a hunger for himself and his Word. When trials come, the first place to run is Scripture.</li><li><strong>Trials teach us to know God personally</strong> - Job was the most godly man on earth when Satan challenged his motives before God: &quot;Does Job serve God for nothing?&quot; God permitted Satan to strip Job of his possessions and children, then his health. Job did not know the heavenly drama behind his suffering, but he worshiped through it — &quot;the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.&quot; When Job&#39;s friends falsely accused him and he began to look at himself rather than God, God responded with sixty questions from the whirlwind that restored his vision. The goal of Job&#39;s suffering was a deeper, firsthand knowledge of God — and God restored him twofold.</li><li><strong>Trials show God to the world</strong> - Jesus&#39;s disciples assumed the man born blind was being punished for sin. Jesus corrected them: &quot;Neither this man nor his parents sinned — but that the works of God should be revealed in him.&quot; Lazarus was allowed to die so the Son of God could be glorified through resurrection. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in Philippi — not because they did anything wrong — but at midnight they prayed and sang hymns, the prisoners listened, an earthquake opened every door, and the jailer came to faith along with his entire household. God permits suffering so that he can display himself through those who trust him.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>Not everything that happens to believers is good — but all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Schmidt urges students to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the middle of difficult seasons, trust that God always has their best interest in view, and remember that the God who worked through Job, through Paul and Silas, and through the blind man is working in their lives right now.</p>