Everything Works Together for the Best

Our textbook is the Bible. Besides a title, many books also have a subtitle. We could write as a subtitle on the front page of the Bible: “A Textbook for Becoming Completely Happy.” That’s exactly what it is! It’s a textbook for becoming completely happy here on this earth—not in the life to come—no, here on earth. This subtitle gives a clearer picture of what the Bible is all about. It’s about becoming completely happy; not only when everything is going well—then even ungodly people are good-tempered and go around singing—but happy, come what may, in the day of adversity, in the day of trial, always, without exception. It is written: “Rejoice always.” Of course, you won’t be able to manage this the first time around, but you can be saved so it will become like that. The most significant thing that can be said about God’s Word is that it is exactly true, mathematically exact. All the words of life in the New Testament, all the words concerning a new life—a divine life—are mathematically exact. Not believing this is a mistake, and it cuts off any possibility of partaking of it.

There is, of course, something for everyone in the Bible, something for the unconverted person and something for those who are newly converted, etc. All of God’s Word is powerful, but some verses are more powerful than others. Some verses are incredibly powerful and glorious. They are also precise, accurate, and true to a hairsbreadth, and fully attainable! But only in one way: by believing with all of my heart that it’s for me, personally. It isn’t enough just to believe that what’s written in the Bible is truly attainable. I must believe it for myself—believe that it will become like that in my life. This is the faith that saves me. Just believing that what’s written is right and true doesn’t help a bit. Each one of us must personally believe it for ourselves. This is the faith that will save and transform us and make us precisely as the Word describes, exactly and completely, not a little, not partially, but completely and entirely.

One of the most destructive things sin has done to the natural human being is to make him so incredibly superficial—indescribably superficial. We glance over the pages, just skimming the surface of what is written. When it comes to having faith in what we read, we only believe in a vague sort of way. However, there is nothing vague about the Bible. It is precise and true.

People quite simply read, x for y and six instead of seven. In other words, they read totally inaccurately. People are usually very good at reading newspapers and other things accurately, but when it comes to the Bible, they read about as well as blind men box. This comes from that superficiality. You don’t take the time; you don’t have a living interest in meditating on it, talking to yourself about exactly what it says, telling yourself that it’s true, and that you are supposed to be like that. There is hardly anyone that does that, and that’s why most people are in such a pitiful state. Just before I left home today, I received a letter from a sister who wrote: “Romans 8:28 has been my comfort for many years.” That statement demonstrates that she doesn’t believe in Romans 8:28. It proves that she has no idea what is written there—she doesn’t have the faintest notion. “It’s been a comfort.” I can well imagine that many here have had the same understanding. “It’s been a comfort”—but who is to be comforted? This is also written in our textbook. It’s those who sorrow who are comforted and are to be comforted. But if I believe in Romans 8:28, it’s not possible to be sorrowful. It’s absolutely impossible. I cannot sorrow. To believe in Romans 8:28 is the same as being overjoyed, increasingly, night and day, in every possible circumstance, trial and situation. Absolutely ecstatic, through and through! Then the verse is fulfilled: “Give thanks for everything . . . .” [1 Thess. 5:18—Norwegian]. “Give thanks for everything that is good.” That’s not what’s written. It says: “Give thanks for everything.” Both “bad” and good. That’s how thankful you’ll be, if you believe in Romans 8:28. It’s also written, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” This isn’t possible without believing in Romans 8:28. But if I believe in Romans 8:28 I can’t do anything else. Then I’m always ecstatically happy. Let’s read it: “We know that everything” (both good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant—everything—and that includes every person) “works together for the best” (as it’s written in the strongest translation, and that is the most accurate), “for those who love God.” Everything that we meet in life, everything, without exception, works together for our best. It couldn’t be written more clearly, but superficiality causes us not to see it. We, quite simply, cannot read properly. And we’re not interested enough either; we don’t take the time.

It’s just simply not possible to be dissatisfied with the best. And the best happens every time. It couldn’t be written more clearly. No one, converted or unconverted, is ever dissatisfied with the best. That’s a contradiction; it’s nonsense, it’s insane. Yet this is concealed due to superficiality. Of course you learned to read at school. You are good at reading all kinds of things but not the Bible. When it concerns the Bible, we must take what we read to heart so that it becomes living for us, so we can believe as a little child. I’ve become profoundly and incurably happy, forever—without the slightest exception—because it says “everything.” It’s not just that everything has been good, but it has been the best every time. It was the best for me, and it’s the best for you in each individual instance. It’s quite obvious that most people don’t see what’s written, and therefore they can’t believe it either. When I think that something else is written there, then I can’t, of course, believe what is actually there. It’s not written as you think; it’s written just as you are hearing now, and as I’ve read now. The Norwegian translation is weak. It says: “serves to that which is good,” but even that means that everything brings only income—that is to say, no expenses. Everything brings income, and no one can be unhappy with a business like that. No bills, no expenses, only income all the time. The ledger book can then be narrow because there is only one column to be added and carried over to the next page. It’s even possible to make do with the Norwegian translation, but the strongest translation is, without question, always the best one. One word in one language can be translated using one of several different words in another language. In some cases, there can be many different words. The theologians and professors who do the Bible translating are not professors in faith—far from it. Of course, they choose some of the weakest words. It is therefore obvious that when it is translated differently, with stronger words inn one Bible than in another, the strongest version is the correct one.

I’ve lived a long time, and I’m not an untried man. It doesn’t matter what happens—it’s completely immaterial what they say about me, do with me, or do against me. It doesn’t matter even if they condemn me to hell because it’s someone else who will judge me. When you take things this way, there’s no such thing as adversity nor are there any difficulties. Things can’t be difficult when you continually meet the best; that’s not what we call difficult, is it? Is there anyone here who has been in the habit of calling the very best there is “difficult”? It’s not so, no indeed. Even if no one believes it, that’s the way it is anyway. But when I believe it, then it becomes fulfilled in me. Then it can be seen and heard that this has become real in my own life. It’s been like this in my life for many, many years. No one can testify differently because they haven’t seen anything else. There’s no one present here (nor anyone else either) who has heard me, at any time, speaking about difficulties, my difficulties. There aren’t any difficulties—not a single one, other than those that people manufacture themselves. And we manufacture difficulties by not reading accurately, not believing exactly what’s written, and not living precisely according to it.

Personally, I live by faith, blissfully happy night and day, no matter what I need to suffer or deal with. Once more, it’s not just that it’s wrong not to believe in it [Rom. 8:28]; it’s not that. It’s not even possible to find an unconverted person who is dissatisfied with the best. That’s nonsense; it’s a contradiction; it’s insane. God guides everything so perfectly and loves us so much that He only wants to give us the very best—only wants to make us completely happy. When we don’t believe that, then we don’t believe in the true God. The God we believe in then is different and therefore not the true God. The true God is the one which is written about in Romans 8:28.

It’s also written in the Bible about another gospel and another Jesus. When we don’t believe in the words of life in the New Testament, then we actually believe in a gospel and in a Jesus that don’t exist. He is just like what’s written in the Bible about Him because the Bible is perfectly true and accurate—every word. There are many other indescribably powerful and glorious scriptures like this one, which also are perfectly, precisely true. If we believe them, then we experience them. If we don’t believe them, God has determined that we won’t experience them either. In Hebrews 11:6 it’s written: “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” When Jesus was here in the days of His flesh and spoke about the Spirit that should be sent, He said that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, would lead us into all the truth. In other words, lead us to the very strongest words so they can be fulfilled. We can read another scripture, Matthew 10:29-31. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” How many sparrows do you think one person is worth? Have you ever thought about this? “You are of more value than many sparrows,” it’s written. Yes, we are better than all the sparrows put together—much better and much more significant. In another place it’s written, in Amos 3:6, “. . . does evil befall a city unless the Lord has done it?” He guides everything from counting the hairs on our head to the worst accidents. But when we love God, every possible thing works together for our best. Yes, God has been extra gracious towards me since my childhood and youth. Once when I was in my early twenties, I went for a walk and took my Bible. I found a place to sit down up on the hill above Horten and just opened my Bible at random. It fell open at these words. [Matt. 10:29-31] From that moment I’ve believed in them. That was in my youth, and I’ve had many formidable trials since then.

He keeps track of the number of hairs on our head. We don’t bother about a hair, not even about ten of them; we brush them out continually; we don’t give it a second thought; we don’t pay any attention. But God isn’t like that. He keeps track, and if He keeps track of the number of hairs on our head, what doesn’t He keep track of and guide?

When we love God, He has billions of strings in His hand and pulls them in such a way that everyone, whether he wants to or not, is obliged to serve us for our best—work together for our best. It turns out to be the ideal cooperative society. God has mostly unpaid servants, but some paid ones, too. Those who serve Him in spirit and in truth are the paid servants. So think about this: It means then that all our opponents have to work together for our best. That’s what they have been doing all along, and that’s why it goes so well. That’s evident! They condemn us to hell, and the more they condemn us to hell, the more like heaven it becomes. Being a believer is a delightful thing, when you’re not just one in name, but in reality. Strengthen yourself in the Lord your God and in faith. Always believe that every single word of life is precisely true and accurate, to a hairsbreadth. This means that when you believe it you experience it, and it happens just like it says. I wish you well. I wish the very best for each and every one of you!