A believer, Bernard Gilpen, was sentenced in the reign of Queen Mary to die for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each morning and each night, during his imprisonment, he repeated the text, “All things work together for good to them that love God.”
Finally the day came when he was led out to his execution. On the way he stumbled, fell and broke his leg. He was ordered back to prison where he lay, moaning in pain. His jailer taunted him with the text he had so often repeated. “Ah!” Gilpen replied, “but it is true all the same.”
For quite some painful period of time, he lay in the prison hospital, while his leg healed. But the Scripture he so faithfully quoted indeed proved itself gloriously true. During the time he lay there, Queen Mary died and Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne of England. One of her first acts was to set at liberty Christians imprisoned for their faith, including Bernard Gilpen!
Though it does not say all things that happen to Christians are good, God tells us that they work together for good. Faith is put to the test by these words. But even when faith wavers and is ever so weak, our Father is unchanging and has spoken unchanging truth. Often, perhaps, we do not see as striking a proof of the truth of this verse as in our little account. But whether or not we see such proof, the truth of God remains as unchanging as He—“all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).
Truth for Young Christians (adapted)