Romans 8:28 (NASB)
"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."

This passage is one of God's greatest promises and blessings. One full of hope. Those who love God seek not to do things according to their own will, but seek to please Him by following His will, by living according to His purpose for their lives. For such people God works to bring forth good out of all things. When we consider some of the circumstances of life like sickness, success, failure, good fortune, or any other painful occurrence, the total result of all these things for the person who is living in God's love is good fruit.

A good example of this in Scripture is the story of Joseph, which can be found in Genesis 37-50. Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob. And because of this, jealousy was aroused in the hearts of his older brothers. And this jealousy caused them to sell their own brother into slavery. As a slave in the house of an Egyptian nobleman named Potiphar, Joseph performed his duties so well that he was made overseer of his whole household. But Potiphar's wife had designs on the young and handsome Joseph. When he resisted her advances, the result was his imprisonment. But Joseph continued to love God and remain faithful to Him in spite of his misfortunes. In the end God worked things out for good, for at the right time He arranged circumstances in such a way so that Joseph became second only to the Pharaoh in the rulership of Egypt, and he delivered the nation from famine.

The lesson we can learn from all this is that the good and bad things that happen to us can help to draw us closer to God. Out of the worst situations we sometimes face in life, we can have the hope that as long as we are in Christ, all things will ultimately work together for good.