We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

I've got a question for you today. Do you like failure in your life? Do you like struggle in your life? I know I don't. I especially don't like those times when I'm dealing with things that don't seem to make sense at all. Well, that's why our verse yesterday on The Lutheran Hour is worth taking a look at again one more day. Romans 8 tells us that especially in those tough times, we can put our trust in the God of heaven who ultimately works all things together for good to those who love Him. He's the cross-and-resurrection Savior who tells us to trust in Him in all things!

And that's good news indeed, isn't it? So here's a thought for today: good from evil messages, success from failure stories can be encouraging and even better -- hope engendering. We can see a glimpse of that even in the simple stories in everyday life.

For instance, have you ever heard about the failure that became the Post-it Notes success? I know that you know what Post-it Notes are, everyone does. They're those great little self-stick notepapers. Most people have Post-it Notes. Most people use them. Most people love them. But Post-it Notes was not a planned product. Their success came from real failure!

No one got the idea of Post-it Notes and then stayed up all night to invent it. A man named Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M had already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong.

No one knew what to do with the stuff, but Silver luckily didn't discard it. Then one Sunday four years later, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church's choir. He used paper markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver's adhesive, Fry used some to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the paper. 3M began distributing Post-it Notes nationwide in 1980 -- ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available.

Well, eternally, when it really counts, God is an expert at making failure into successes, but not just with mundane Post-it Notes' moments in our lives. His greatest miracle is taking sinners like us and making us His own, and it is God's promise that nothing in this world will be able to separate us from Him. That's the message that holds in success and struggle, in triumph and even in tragedy. Indeed, in everything God works for good to those who love Him.

But you might be asking do you mean everything, I mean really everything? That still sounds as trite as someone saying that "in every cloud there is a silver lining."

Well, when it comes to questions such as these, there are no easy answers or motivating heroic, human stories that can do the job. There is only the message of God in action, who endured the cross, enduring the hellish price for sin so that we could really put our hope in the promise of our resurrection and eternal life with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

That's why, as C.G. Moule says, "There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation, create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today," even for you!

THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I don't know what to do or what to think when things aren't going well in my life. Please, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, give me the courage to put my trust in You and trust Your Word, even then. Amen!