Many years ago, someone shared with me words from the apostle Paul in the book of Romans (8:28) where God declares that all circumstances in a person’s life are working together for that person’s good. That thought gave me a great deal of encouragement, particularly when I realized that life was full of difficulty. The problem for me was how to interpret the word good.

Sure, I wanted the “good life” and thought that was what God wanted for me. However, I had interpreted the good life to mean achievement, comfort, pleasure, and prosperity.  

After it was pointed out to me, I soon realized the importance of looking at the next verse in Romans because verse 29 revealed what was actually good for my life in the sight of God. What I considered to be the good life was not at all what God had revealed it to be. In Romans 8:29 we are told that the ultimate good in life is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. It finally dawned on me that God’s desire for me and for all men is to become more like Jesus. Up until that time, my whole life had been focused on what I was achieving and what I was experiencing. God, on the other hand, was more concerned with the type of man I was becoming.