All things work together for my good?

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,

to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 NKJV

In Romans 8 we are assured that everything is working in cooperation with and being used by God for the ultimate benefit of those whom God has called to Himself.

What? Danny, have you lost your mind? You are trying to tell me that everthing works for my benefit? That is just plain foolishness. Right? Bad things happen all the time. How am I supposed to benefit from pain and suffering, disappointment and rejection, from loss and betrayal?

I understand how you feel completely. I used to have a tremendous amount of difficulty understanding how this scripture could possibly be true. I thank God for His patience. As a result of my spiritual journey I have come to the following conclusions:

1. God is good.
Even though we sometimes don't see His goodness in practical terms it doesn't make it untrue. Sometimes our ability to see clearly is hindered by frustration, disappointment or ignorance.

2. God knows what is coming and how to get you through it to victory.
He is not controlled by our fickle emotions and does not make decisions based on our feelings. He sees our future and knows how to prepare us for it. He uses our experiences to grow us up and empower us to be Christlike so that at a future date when someone else needs help we are are equipped, willing, and able.
Our experiences are unique, yet universal. God consistently uses people who have been through difficulties and challenges and found victory to encourage and teach those who are currently walking down the same road they have previously traveled.
It is a cycle that allows us to be used by God to bring help and healing to those who need it. In the same way that God used someone in our past to help us get this far.

3. God is working on us and through us in order to produce the character of Jesus Christ in our hearts.
God has a plan for each of our lives that will take many different shapes for each of us. But there is one thing that is consistent for all of us. God plans on having all of you. His goal is for your heart to be fully His. Once that is accomplished everything else will fall in place. You are being prepared by God Himself to bring His unconditional love to an unlovable world. Once He can get it in you He can get it through you. We are called by God to produce spiritual fruit so that the world can taste and see that the Lord is good. As we honor God with our fruit He rewards us with His peace and joy and contentment.
Romans 8:28 shows us that God will work within our victories and our failures to teach us, mature us, equip us, love us, refine us, and empower us to live a life that is completely His.