There are many posts explaining this verse, one of the most important in the Bible, and one often misunderstood and misquoted.
What does Romans 8:28 mean?
Here again, we find a verse which is extremely popular, often mis-applied, and even controversial. Despite its incredibly comforting message, some Christians have had an awkward relationship with this verse over the years. That is in no small part due to how easy it is to take this verse out of the context of Romans 8. Stripping these words of their context destroys the essence of what Scripture is saying. It is also possible to interpret the verse correctly, and still misuse it to dismiss the genuine pain and suffering of another person.
This post on Bibleref.com goes on to make the following points:
- this promise is limited to "those who love God," and "those who are called according to His purpose." In short, that means the promise is for Christians: for saved believers, who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ (John 3:16–18; 14:6; Romans 3:26).
- "All things" should be taken to mean each and every circumstance one might experience, even pain or suffering. "Work," or "work together," must be understood in light of God taking action in the world.
- The word "good" does not necessarily mean happy or painless or financially successful or our idea of the best possible outcome on any given day
- The comfort of the verse is that nothing in this life of waiting and suffering is wasted.
Read the full article here