You're listening to audio from Ascend Church. For more information about Ascend or to access more gospel-centered tools to grow as a disciple of Christ, visit ascendkc.org. If you don't know me, my name is Tim Yatch. I am our Director of Student Ministries here at Ascend, and I have been for the last seven and a half years, seven glorious years. And this is one of those messages that is hard to preach because it's my last message here. And we've been here for all this time, and we've been so blessed by our time here, and we've been blessed in a lot of different ways, in a lot of different areas, and I was just trying to name some of them out. We've been blessed with childcare, constant childcare, because we have so many children, dental procedures, garage repair, faucet installation, car repair, diapers, a lot of diapers, and maybe most importantly and most amazingly is Andra Cup, who I wanted to say her name. She watched our kids for seven years so that Tracy and I could do ministry together. on Sunday nights for student ministry for free. It's amazing. So I don't know if she'll hook you up in that way, but she did for us. So our family, we're gonna be moving back to the Chicago suburbs. Shout out to Chicago. And we're gonna be there joining High Point Church, which is actually the church that Tracy and I came from. She was on staff there for three years, doing various things, and we attended there for 10 years, and I'm going to be joining a residency program to plant a campus with them of High Point. And so we're going to be doing that training for one to two years. But I could tell you that this was a decision, this was a This is something that we came to not lightly. There's a lot of excitement with the opportunity to go back to this place. We have family there, we have close friends there, but this has been an overwhelmingly difficult decision to make because of you all, because of our church family. And it's amazing how when you move to a place where you don't know anybody, especially in the church world, your church becomes your family, right? And that's what's happened for us. You've welcomed us into your homes, you've joined us with your life, and we've been just so loved, and we're so grateful for our time that we've had here. So thank you. Thank you, and we love you. You know, the words of Philippians 1, 4 through 6 have been really resounding in my mind. And it says this, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Always in every prayer, for you all making my prayer with joy because of your, this is the key word, partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion to the day of Jesus Christ. I love that verse, I love that section. It just immediately came to my mind because this is what church is about, right? Partnership. And we've been blessed to be a part of that with you all. And so I can't say highly enough how awesome our experience has been here at the church, how amazing our elders have been, how loving and caring they've been for us. So it's definitely a bittersweet thing, but we're excited that this process of completion It doesn't stop now, right? It continues. It continues for you all, it continues for us, and we're gonna be made to be more, to look like Christ as time goes on. And also, I think that you owe us a thank you, because the Royals and the Chiefs are both world champions since we moved here, which, I got a little more excitement at first service. We feel like we brought that here specifically from that winning culture in Chicago. So thinking about moving away, thinking about just this whole process for us has really made us think about, okay, what are we actually placing our hope in? How do we go forward with a step like this, something that's so difficult and so hard, how do we do this Right, how do we actually go forward in this? And the way that we do that is with hope. We do it with hope. We are rescued through hope. That's what we're gonna be looking at here today. Hope is crucial to your joy and your perseverance in the faith. And we're gonna be looking at Romans chapter eight and Romans chapter 8 is one of those awesome just chunks of scripture that, you know, if John Piper says that it's the greatest chapter in the greatest book of the Bible, then we all know it's true, right? And that's what he said about Romans chapter 8. And really, what was interesting is that immediately when we started going through this crazy time that we are in, because we are still in it, you feel like it's over, but it's not, the passage that I was running to, the passage that a lot of preachers actually was running to, were running to, was in Romans 8. And that's because there is so much hope in Romans 8. There's so much hope, there's tons of hope here, and we're gonna see that as we jump into this. Every week there has been seemingly a new hurdle that we have to jump over. And I could actually say it was kind of fun doing the weekend update video that was on Facebook because I got to say that really there's no updates for this week as far as how we're doing things differently. So that was fun, that was one of the first weeks we've been able to do that. But in the midst of kind of the constant change, the differing opinions, the government executive orders that we have differing opinions on for sure, there's one constant. One rock, Christ alone, amen? Our cornerstone, the one that we can run to. So go ahead and turn to Romans 8, if you're looking in the Bibles, in front of you is on page 944. Our big idea today is this. No matter the circumstance, no matter the difficulty, hope is found in Christ alone. Hope is found in Christ alone. Let's pray. God, I thank you that you are here and your present. And Lord, I thank you for years of ministry that just goes by so quickly, but Lord, that you've been faithful, and that we have gotten to be a part of what you're doing here at Ascend Church, and it's so much bigger than us, it's so much bigger than any one person that's part of this church, God, it is something that you're doing. So Lord, I thank you that you're going to complete this church, you're going to complete each believer here in this room, that you're gonna complete us, and that you're gonna make us look more like you. So Lord, would you help us to see the truth of your word? Would you help us to find hope no matter where we find ourselves here today in Christ alone? We pray this in his name, amen. All right, starting at verse 18, I'm gonna read it there, going through 21. It says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Our first point here today is that we can find hope in difficulty, hope in difficulty. Now there's clearly a lot here, and so essentially what Paul is doing is offering kind of his thesis statement, we all know what those are, right? For the rest of what he's gonna be talking about here in the rest of these verses. He's summarizing what his perspective is. He's going to illustrate it in this way by saying, see your circumstances from this lens. See your circumstances through this lens. I'll never forget the moment when I was blind and then I could see. Now, I'm not talking about like an Amazing Grace type moment, anything like that, though I have had that. But the moment that I had cataract surgery, which you may be wondering, why would a young man strapping have cataract surgery in his 30s? Well, that's because I have about a minus 14 prescription in nearsighted perspective. If you have, if you understand that, you know that's really, really bad, okay? About three times worse than the average person. And so I got cataracts, yay for me, right? And so there I am having this surgery performed, which is about two minutes of agony, and I literally see this powered, this lens coming down towards my eye, and everything is blurry, and all of a sudden it's like, and there it is, I can see, right? Like, all the blurriness of my life as far as what I could see was changed in that moment, and our circumstances are much like that. Like, they can make our vision very blurry. We need like hope-filled lenses to be able to see the world in a more clear way, in a right way. So what kind of circumstances is Paul describing here? Well, he says present, it says suffering, which is present difficult circumstances. For Paul, he had a heavenly mindset that far superseded anything that he could have happen and come his way. He's the one who wrote Colossians 3, one and two, so it says, we're to set our minds on things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Like, literally, that is our perspective. That is what we're supposed to set our minds upon, and Paul has the ability to do that in a way that's maybe never been done before. He was gifted unto the Lord to see his circumstances in that way. Now he's not describing a specific kind of suffering in this, though we kind of know what his suffering is, which we'll talk about in a second. He's talking about kind of general disappointment, or poverty, or frustration, or an inability to graduate from high school, or an inability to start college on time, or quarantining when you have to go visit somebody for two weeks, which, It's kind of a cruel joke, right? When you think about it in terms of a place like Hawaii, where it's like $300 for round-trip flights, but then you go there and you have to be quarantined for two weeks. It's just like, why? I wanna go to Hawaii. I wanna pay $300 round-trip. But no, not gonna be that. Not taking a four-week trip, that's not happening. So, we think we understand suffering, right, to some degree. But we really don't, in comparison to Paul. He was the man who, 2 Corinthians 11 talks about it, He talks about his suffering, how he was beaten and imprisoned and often near death, physical suffering. And then he had kind of the emotional and mental suffering of struggling with the churches that he had planted. And I think in a lot of ways, we can understand kind of the mental pressure that Paul was undergoing, right? Because doesn't it feel that way? There's like this tension that we all feel. Do you guys feel it? Where it's like, it just feels like there's a pressure pressing in around us during this time. And it makes sense, doesn't it? The economy is a roller coaster. Businesses are closing. Schools are, who knows what schools are? People are sick. You know, there's cases where churches like are not even allowed to meet, like in California. The whole mask thing, which I don't, we're not getting into. I can't remember a time when our nation was maybe struggling in the way that it is right now, besides maybe 2001 with the 9-11 attacks. We're going to remember this time period forever. You will never forget this time period. But Paul has come to a point of believing, of holding a view that his current state, everything he's dealing with right now, the things that are in front of him in this moment, can not compare to the glory in the future for the believer. The future is bright for the believer in Jesus Christ. No difficulty will even be a distant memory when that time period comes. I can only imagine what it will be like. You guys know it? When I walk, you know, nevermind, we're not singing that. 2 Corinthians 4, 17 says, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. That sounds nice, doesn't it? That sounds nice to me. This life that Paul is talking about, one commentary puts it this way, it says, it's a life undisturbed by anything hostile or hurtful. I think that sounds pretty amazing. Like a life literally not disturbed by anything hostile or hurtful. I think we want that right now. The fact that an illness can push our country to the brink in the way that it has just shows how fragile it all is, doesn't it? And all throughout this passage we see kind of this like, anxious anticipation, this angst that's like building up inside. We see it in verse 19. It says, creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. It's this idea of like being on the edge of your seat, right? Like all of you guys are, just listening to me, just kidding. Paul's saying that all creation is waiting in this way with eagerness for the sons of God to be revealed, it says in verse 19. See, our hope in difficulty is found in our relationship to Jesus Christ. That's how we obtain hope. That's how we could have hope of future glory, is in relationship to Him. This is key, and that's the question we have to ask ourselves is, are you a child of God? Do you actually know Him? Is your life marked and decidedly different because of your faith in Christ? Is he the centerpiece of what you live for and what you live about? Or is he just a part of your life? This is a drum that I beat at youth group probably way too often, though I don't think you can beat it enough, right? Because to be immersed in Christian culture, to be surrounded by Christianity in the way that so many students are, It could form a person who knows how to be a Christian. They know what to say and what to do, but they actually, their heart is far from him. That could be some of you here. Jesus requires that he be the center and the forefront of our lives. What hope do we have apart from him? None. We have no hope apart from him. If you're a surrendered child of God, if He is your Lord, then future glory is your hope. This body of futility, I'm speaking of my own, is gonna be no more. You know, sprained ankles and sprained feet and back problems and bad eyes and everything else, right? It's not a body of utility, it's a body of futility. It's a big difference between those terms. It'll be all, it'll be transformed. Our bodies will be transformed, for those who knew Christ, into a glorified body. One commentary describing it this way says, the spiritual body will be seen with light and freedom and movement, but most importantly, it will take, it will be like the body of Christ himself, right? That's glorification. The reality present in this passage is this groaning that's going on within creation, this state of disrepair that creation is in because of sin. It's like a house that used to be beautiful, but now it's not so beautiful anymore, right? The Lion King calls it the circle of life, and Paul calls it futility. Sin has caused this unraveling of creation, bringing emptiness and uselessness and chabel, that word that is fun to say. Creation has been cursed because of sin. You can write down Genesis 3, 17 to 19, this talks about it. But the only cure for this curse of sin is Christ himself. Everything will be made right and new when Christ comes again. all of your personal suffering, all of your personal uncertainty and fear, all of the futility and wasting away of creation will be gone. In verse 21 it says, when creation obtains the freedom of the glory of the children of God. There's such hope here. Christians are people known for hope. That's why Christians can endure the most difficult circumstances. Just hard stuff, Christians, they can do it, right? Because we have future, glory, hope. So how is your relationship with the Lord? Where is that relationship in decay? Is there areas of life that have been slipping through the cracks, right? Causing your hope to decrease? You might be thinking, well, this future glory, hope stuff sounds great, but what about right now? What about right now? Let's talk about right now. That's our second point, because we find hope in waiting. We find hope in the waiting. Look at verse 22. It says, for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. and not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirits grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes and what he sees, but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. I can tell you that there's one thing that Paul is very focused on within this passage. What do you think it is? Hope, he's very focused on hope. And it's very interesting that Paul discusses this idea of childbirth in the context of waiting. I've been privileged to be present for the birth of five baby yatches. That's how you say the last name, five baby yatches. And one thing that I have noted is that Tracy, she does not take the pain drug stuff, she doesn't do that. which is personal preference, right? Totally fine, just saying, just don't wanna get an email or something. But one thing I noticed is that she's extremely acute, she knows what's going on, she could feel the pain rising and I could see the pain rising also because there's this little machine that's in the room that literally, you see it, it's like, and then you see the mountain going up and you're like, oh, that's a contraction, oh boy. And then you get to the top and it's like, ooh, yeah. I'm glad I'm not doing this. I'm glad she is, but she's built for it, I'm not, it's okay. That's how it is. Creation is groaning like childbirth. The pain rises, it subsides, it increases over time. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 24. He says you hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don't be alarmed. Such things must happen, and the end is still to come. Nations will rise against nation, famines, earthquakes. These are the beginning of birth pains. This is creation groaning, and I think that in some sense, the time period we find ourselves in is creation groaning as well, right? Like that's what's happening to a degree. So just as creation is waiting with hope, as we just looked at, all believers are waiting with hope. We are waiting for our redemption in the moment. This is the second groaning that he talks about. It's a longing to be with Christ. It's a groaning because we wanna be with the one who has redeemed us, amen? He talks about this idea of firstfruits of the Spirit, and essentially what that is, that's the Holy Spirit, is what he's referencing there. And the Holy Spirit is this, it's a pledge of subsequent salvation in all its fullness at Christ's return. So what does that mean? It means that the Holy Spirit is our deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance as believers. That is an awesome thing, right? The Spirit is in you, presently, here and now, if you were a follower of Christ. He's dwelling within you. That gives hope here and now, no matter what you're going through. Our identities change. Everything about our pursuits change. Our mission changes. We learned about it last week. Ken did such a great job talking about our mission unto the Lord. But our mission changes when we have this type of hope and we have this type of pursuit. This type of right now hope causes Christians to go forward waiting on the Lord in very difficult situations. I've been reading this biography of Adoniram Judson. He was the first missionary in Burma in the early 1800s. He was really a contemporary of William Carey, who was the first missionary in India. He lived faithfully. He suffered incredible loss. He had numerous children pass away due to illness and bad conditions. He had two wives die due to the same thing. It took him six years to get his first convert in Burma. Think about the waiting and the pain and the toil that that took, right? But he said these words, after 40 years of missionary in that place, millions impacted and saved through his example and through his witness. But he said this, thanks be to God, not only for rivers of endless joy above, but for streams of comfort below. Do you see how he understood this perspective that Paul has? Future glory? and present hope, right? We have both available to us. Paul is fixated on this idea of hope. He says this word five times just in verses 24 and 25 alone. So what does it mean to have hope? Well, I'll give you an example from my life. When I was 15 years old, I had hope of buying a car when I turned 16 and getting my license. Both things that I had not done yet, but I had hope for them, right? And so one day, I come back from Washington, D.C. I had gone there, and actually that's where I came to know the Lord, was on a trip in Washington, D.C. when I was 16, or almost 16. And there waiting for me, when I arrived home, was a 1984 Burgundy Buick Skylark. and the hefty cost of $100, actually, is what it cost. I'm not joking, it's actually $100. And it ran, it had an engine, and it ran. It had seats and seatbelts, and it ran, actually. So in that day, some of my hope was realized. I go on the next week, I get my license, and then I'm like, freedom, hope, right? Hope is the desire that something will, in fact, be fulfilled, and for me it was, right? Many Christians try to live as if they don't have hope. They live disobediently, they live apart from the Lord. They try to live as if the Spirit of God does not dwell within them. Consistent patterns of disobedience will cause you to lose hope over time. I've seen that in student ministry. So how can you keep hope on a very practical level during difficult times, during times of uncertainty? Like how do we actually do this? Well, I'm gonna give you four very simple steps and things that you all know. But I think simplicity is a good thing, okay? So number one, pray. Pray. Your emotional sanity, your spiritual peacefulness is directly tied to your prayer life. So how much do you pray? Is that a part of your life? Number two, read. Keep God's truth on the forefront and the center of your mind and your heart and your actions. You're everything, right? Keep it on the forefront. Two books that, I love reading books that spur me on in my faith. Two books in particular, if you're looking for something good to read, Knowing God, J.I. Packer, love that book. Talks about the character of God in such an awesome way that's practical, yet so deep. and Radical by David Platt, very missional-focused book. But if you're looking for books to read, I totally would recommend those. So number two, read. Number three, obey. Obey. See, it's very easy, as I mentioned, to let things slip during times like this. Don't do that. Obey. Find people to help you in your obedience. Have brothers and sisters come alongside you to help you in that way. Number four, love. Like our love for one another, our love for the body of Christ and for those outside the body should not be any different because times are tough, right? Or because there's uncertainty. In fact, it should be enhanced. Like our love meter, if that's a thing, should be at its highest level during times such as this. So we have future hope available, we have present hope in the waiting, right? But where does that hope actually come from? That's our third point. We have hope in the Holy Spirit. Hope in the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 26. I love those words. This is one of those passages that really describes the work of the Holy Spirit, and we hear so much about how the Holy Spirit helps, but how does it actually do that? Well, remember, hope is that idea. Hope is directly tied to what prayer is gonna be here than what we're looking at. So this is a continuation of Paul's thinking regarding hope, and it's one of those groanings. It's the third groaning that we actually see. So you have the creation groaning, you have our groaning, and now you have the groaning of the Holy Spirit This is a direct link here to what Paul has been bringing up all along, and what does this passage tell us about the Holy Spirit? Well, that he's a helper. The Holy Spirit is a helper. He will be with the believer forever. He lives within you. You can't see the Holy Spirit, but you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit, right? Your attitude, your actions, your thinking, your everything is transformed. So how does the Holy Spirit actually help the believer? Well, you can write down John 14, verses 15 through 17. One of the ways that that passage talks about is that it guides us, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. So get this, the Holy Spirit is the helper that literally guides us to the truth of God. He literally brings the truth of God to bear on our minds so that we, in that moment, hopefully and prayerfully, will obey, right? We don't have any excuse. We can't say, well, I didn't know, I didn't know. No, we have the Holy Spirit that's letting us know, that's reminding us that we do know, in fact. So why do we need that kind of help? Why do we need the Holy Spirit coming alongside us in this life? Well, I'll give you two reasons. Number one, we're forgetful. I have remembering problems, that's for sure, no doubt. Just asked my wife how many times I lose my keys in a day, it's often. But I need remembering help, I think we all do, right? We need to be reminded of the truth of God. Fortunate for me, fortunate for us, we have the Holy Spirit doing that. And number two, we're weak. We're weak, we're people of weakness. We might think we're strong, but no, we're actually weak, we are. We're much like Frodo Baggins. Gotta have a Lord of the Rings reference. But I'm not gonna do a Smeagol impression. Not doing that. Don't wanna trample on Pastor Jeff's legacy there. But if there was ever a character that needed strength, it was Frodo, right? If you've seen those movies, he was the bearer of this ring, this like center of all evil, and he had to bring it to this place to destroy it. And Sam was his helper. He was the one that was alongside him. He was like the voice of reason, the guiding, just the guy that was with him along the way, right? So the Holy Spirit is Sam. Just kidding, it's weird. No, the Holy Spirit is our guide into truth in that similar type of way. But here's the reality, sometimes things are so difficult, there's so much weakness, there's all these things going on that we literally don't even have the words to pray to God. We can't even utter a phrase. In those moments, what happens? where the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. That's an awesome word. He intercedes for us. It means that he pleads, he begs, he appeals to God, he seeks audience with God the Father, he literally petitions on your behalf. How awesome is that? But here's the question. Does the Holy Spirit intercede or beg or plead for everything that we want? No. Very clear here, very key. No, he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, it says in the verses. He intercedes according to God's will. So what is God's will? Well, I'll give you two aspects of God's will. And you have number one, you have his revealed will, which is what God instructs us in throughout his word. So basically, we make decisions, we go through life, and we, led by the Holy Spirit, and led by the word of God, we make decisions and walk in accordance with that. That's His revealed will, right? Scriptures are His revealed will. So we make decisions in line with that, and we go forward, and we trust the Lord in that. And then we have His decreed will, which is the idea of, like, what's going to happen, what God knows is going to happen, has been decreed, right? That's His plan. That's His sovereign plan, that's His decreed will. A key verse to think about in terms of God's will is 1 Thessalonians 4, 3, which says, That's key. That's really what the will of God in a lot of ways is all about, is about our sanctification. You know why? Because when we're sanctified, when we're growing in the Lord, when we're pursuing His truth, we're going to make decisions that honor Him. We're gonna make decisions that are in line with His word. God's will is that who you are now and who you will be as his plan unfolds are living out these scriptural principles, that it would all kind of come together and you would walk forward in that. So what hope we have in the fact that the Holy Spirit literally pleads for us, he groans with us, he's there, right? It's like no matter what you're dealing with, no matter what difficulty, like, he's there. You're not alone. God is for you. He's not against you, and he's with you. Next, let's look at verses 28 to 30. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called according to his purpose, For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. There are many, many sermons that have been preached out of just these verses. But our last point is this, that we could have hope in the plan. We could have hope in the plan. The question we have to wrestle with is whether the difficulty and the waiting and all of that, all that bad stuff and good stuff combined can somehow all be turned for good. Can that actually happen? And the answer is an emphatic yes. Yes, it can work for good. Look at the very beginning of these verses. Paul is just, he's trying to inspire confidence, I think. He says, and we know. That is confidence. We know that all things work together for good, for those who have been called. There's a certainty to all of this. He knows what he is saying. He's sharing it boldly that all things work together for good. Does that mean that everything in itself is actually good? No, be very clear about that, like no, not every action, every individual thing is a good thing, but can God take all of what's happened, the ugly stuff, the good stuff, the bad stuff, can he turn it so that not the stuff is good, but the result is? He can. He can do that, and he does, in the life of the believer. Paul isn't saying that life is gonna be easy, But he's saying that he'll be there, the Holy Spirit will be there with you. He'll be guiding you and he'll be there with you. The end result of all of this is our sanctification. That's God's plan, you see? His plan is that we would be conformed to the image of his son. That's what this is all about, is that we'd be made to be more like Christ in everyday life. As you seek God, as you make Him a priority in your life, He will grant you His presence and you'll have the ability to walk through whatever minefield you happen to be walking through. Sanctification is seen in verse 29 very clearly in the way that he writes it. Everything that happens in this life, the good, the bad, it adds up to this spectacular picture, this like artistic work of you being made to look more like Christ. Like when your life is over, that's what will be seen, is who you were to who you became, right? Through that sanctification process. That is an amazing and hope-filled rescue plan, Christ in you, the hope of glory. There is no greater way to navigate this life than Christ with you, and we finish this passage with verse 30. It says, and those whom he predestined, he also called, and those he called, he also justified, and those he justified, he also glorified. And there's a lot more that could be said about this, as I stated, which I'm not going to get into so much, but I'll summarize it this way. God knows who his children are going to be. It's kind of hard to argue against that, isn't it? He knows, he's omniscient. 2 Timothy 2.19 says the Lord knows who are his. Our God has a plan, do you believe that? And that plan is good. And it might not always work out the way that you expect it to, but it's still good. And he's still gonna form you and sanctify you in his truth. The ultimate question with all of this is where are you finding your hope? Are you finding it in Christ alone? Are you seeing the future with a heavenly mindset? Are you looking above? In the waiting, are you getting lost in the waiting? Are you getting lost with the circumstances around you or are you holding steady? and secure, waiting on the Lord, trusting Him, and being sanctified. Go ahead and bow your heads. God's rescue plan for us is a hope-filled plan. You might be sitting here, listening, and really not know where you stand with the Lord If there's any words that I could say from my last message, it's that today is the day of salvation. There's no barrier to you coming to the Lord. Because if you're here, then it's likely that God is drawing you to himself. You're not here out of chance. There's hope in the plan of God. Don't miss the opportunity because here's the reality, that all things work for good for who? The believer in Jesus Christ. You have no promise of all things working for good. In fact, they will not work for good if you do not have that relationship squared away. If you are not right with him, all things will not work for good. For the believer here, God wants you to cry out to Him, to rely upon Him. I don't know what hope you need, I don't know where you're struggling, but it's available in Him.