3 Misquoted Bible Verses and What God Actually Promises

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

What We Get Wrong

I’ve watched some people use this verse as proof that they’ll experience a pain free and successful life. They expect the Lord to restore every dollar or opportunity lost and bring happiness from every unpleasant moment they endure. 

Here’s why this might feel muddy. In John 10, Jesus did promise us thriving, or “abundant” life. He implied our freedom is analogous to what well-cared for sheep enjoy as they follow their shepherd from lush pastures and bubbling streams to their safe pen to rest. But our Savior also told us to expect opposition, persecution, and numerous types of hardship (John 16). And in fact, that was precisely what the men to whom He originally delivered those words, and countless believers since, experienced. 

According to tradition, all the disciples other than Judas and John were martyred for their faith. Judas didn’t fare any better, although his demise came at his own hands. John, who supposedly lived until age 94, spent time exiled on an isolated rocky island called Patmos, a rugged and inhospitable area to which the Roman authorities banished rebels and criminals. 

We also know from organizations like Voice of the Martyrs that many Christ-followers today suffer horribly and die for their faith. If anyone deserves to receive God’s “favor” as some today might define it, it is those men and women. Yet, their obedience resulted in death.

This doesn’t make Romans 8:28 untrue. It does, however, encourage us to question our commonly held definitions of good. 

What exactly does God mean when He promises to turn all things, the unexpected and painful included, to good? To answer this, we must consider: Who wrote that verse, the cultural context of the time, and the fuller context.

According to Scripture, Paul penned the letter that became the book of Romans. Paul also experienced intense persecution. He was stoned, beaten with rods, flogged, and imprisoned more than once. While, based on what he wrote in Ephesians, he certainly felt blessed, his enduring joy came not from his circumstances but from his Spirit-led transformation, ongoing connection to Christ, and living out his divine purpose.

Our next step is to consider what was going on in Paul’s life and the lives of his immediate readers. First, it’s important to note that he lived during the time of Nero, one of the cruelest emperors in the history of Christendom. So, again, it seems unlikely the Lord was telling Roman believers that all would turn out well this side of heaven. 

This leads to our second interpretive clue: literary context. This is how I’d summarize Romans 8. We are set free in Christ and called to live according to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and by His power (Rom 8:1-17). We are God’s adopted and loved children, and our present suffering doesn’t and cannot negate our identity or security in Him (Romans 8:18-21). Because of our union with Him, we can trust that our present hardships won’t last forever. A glorious eternity awaits us. When life feels so painful or frightening that we lack cohesive words to pray, the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter, intercedes for us according to the Lord’s will. 

This brings us to Romans 8:28, which tells us that our God has good planned for us. The verse that follows defines God’s goodness when it states, 

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

In other words, God uses today’s difficulties to grow and transform us to more accurately reflect Christ. That is what He considers good. 

Why This Matters

Here’s why this is important. First, if we expect God to compensate our pain with material blessings or a particular favorable outcome, we’re more apt to feel abandoned and disillusioned in times of crisis or extended pain. In our effort to understand the disconnect between our present reality and what we thought Scripture promised, we might assume we’ve done something to cause God to withdraw. 

A faulty view on Romans 8:28 can also cause us to assign blame to others, interpreting their suffering as evidence that they’re living in spiritual disobedience. But obviously, Paul wasn’t resisting Christ when Philippian authorities beat him and his ministry partner with rods, flogged them, then placed them in a dungeon. Nor had he turned from the Lord when he was stoned in ancient Lystra, or when slandered by legalistic Jews who wanted to discredit his ministry. To the contrary. It was precisely because of his love for Christ that he landed in each of those situations. 

What God Does Promise

That doesn’t mean that we’re stuck in our affliction indefinitely. As Paul alluded to in verse 18, the “glory” to come, which 18^th century theologian Albert Barnes equates to happiness and honor, will more than compensate for today’s pain. That’s a powerful truth able to strengthen and encourage the weariest souls, as are the assurances that follow. According to verse 31, we are cared for by a God who loved us so much, He gave us His Son, and nothing can separate us from His love. 

Numerous people enduring incredibly painful circumstances have stated that they deem their sorrow worth it for the depth of intimacy with Christ they’ve experienced through it. This is also a glorious reality God deems good. That’s not to say everyone does or should feel that way. Our emotions, including the most intense and so-called negative, are never sin. Rather, it’s how we behave that determines whether we’re living in a way that honors God. However, these stories of increased intimacy with Christ through suffering remind us that He remains with us always and will never leave. He is our greatest pride.

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“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

What We Get Wrong

While we recognize this verse isn’t telling us we can fly or swim across the globe, we might assume it indicates the Lord will give us victory on the basketball court or in the conference room. Granted, growing in Christ usually leads to increased wisdom, perseverance, and self-control, traits necessary for reaching one’s goals. But that’s not what Paul, who also wrote Philippians, meant. Instead, he was speaking about the strength he needed to retain his faith and stay on mission while experiencing the hardships mentioned above. 

Here again, we understand God’s intended message by reading this unchanging truth in context. In his letter to Christ-followers in Philippi, penned while under arrest, Paul wrote to thank them for their financial support, stating:

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:11-13). 

In other words, God gave Paul the ability to endure difficult circumstances as he shared the gospel, planted churches, and walked beside new believers. 

Why This Matters

As with Romans 8:28, a false understanding of God’s message in Philippians can easily lead to discouragement and disillusionment when the Lord doesn’t respond to our challenges as we expect. Perhaps worse, our faulty application of this truth could feed a sense of entitlement where we begin to expect God to concede to our desires rather than working on conforming ours to His.

Thankfully, our Father loves us too much to “bless” us into increased selfishness, which inevitably leads to isolation and a severely unfulfilled soul. Instead, He lovingly, faithfully draws us to Himself, molds our desires to His, and gives us everything we need to live in a way that pleases Him. 

What God Does Promise

That’s what Philippians 4:13 means. When we feel incapacitated by overwhelming circumstances, we can trust God to replace our weakness with His strength. For some, that might mean gaining the ability to get up in the morning when depression attempts to confine us to bed. For others, this might look like maintaining healthy boundaries in a marriage that feels uncertain and chaotic. In other situations, the Lord might give someone the strength they need to simply hold tight to Him. 

I personally find those types of strength much more necessary and valuable. Trophies and earthly achievements provide temporary satisfaction at best. Knowing we’ve honored the Lord, even in our most trying seasons, brings a fulfillment that resonates deep in the soul. No referee or fickle boss can take that away.

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“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

What We Get Wrong

This verse, misapplied, has caused many people with chronic or terminal illness pain. Some even suggest a person’s healing, or lack thereof, stems from their level of faith. But while God can and sometimes does heal our physical ailments, that isn’t His main message here. This chapter foretells the salvation we’d receive through God’s faithful Servant, Jesus, the long-promised Messiah. 

Here again, context matters, particularly within the verse. Notice what it states as the cause for Christ’s suffering. He endured the brutality of the cross for “our transgressions” and “our iniquities.” In the original Hebrew, one could read this as, “He was wounded” or “slain” (chalel) for our rebellion” or “rebellious acts” (pesha) and “bruised” or “beaten” (daka) for our “guilt” or “moral crookedness” (avon). We’re also told His punishment (which paid what we owed) brought us peace, or wholeness (shalom), restoring our souls to their proper states. 

The verse that follows supports this in its focus on our going astray and turning our own way, by implication, rather than adhering to God’s will. As Scripture states elsewhere, apart from the transformative power of the Holy Spirit within, we all live as functional atheists, or more accurately, as idolaters of self. We dishonor the Lord to seek after temporary pleasure that only leave us spiritually bankrupt, and often at the expense of others. We don’t love God and others the way we want to and know we should. We deserve to receive consequences for our sin. Because of Christ, however, we receive mercy instead.  

That doesn’t mean God can’t or won’t heal us physically, including whatever fear or anxiety that stems from hormonal or biochemical roots. But the Lord’s promise here goes much deeper, reaching to the hidden places within our souls. He responded to our most unloving behavior with the most radical display of love in the history of humanity, broke the power sin holds over us, and offered us a way to live spiritually free today and for all eternity — through our unbreakable union with Him. 

As someone with chronic illness and pain, I can tell you this: if forced to choose between a pain-and-sickness-free life or an ever-deepening connection with my Lord, I’d choose the latter every time. Paradise awaits, but not on this present earth. That’s what heaven is for, and that’s when we’ll experience total healing from everything that ails us. 

Why This Matters

We’ve probably all heard stories of individuals who’ve received instant, supernatural healing. Maybe doctors diagnosed someone with terminal cancer, and months later, their scans show complete remission. Or perhaps we hear about someone who regained their ability to walk after their church family laid hands upon them and prayed. 

But we probably also know of faith-filled men and women who remained disabled, ill, or died from disease. If we assume God always chooses to heal, we’re apt to develop hurtful assumptions that hinder our compassion for others and grace for ourselves. We might even determine that the Lord betrayed or doesn’t love us, when He in fact went to great lengths to show us just how much He cares. He wants what’s best for us. While we may not understand why He decides to heal one and not another, we can trust that He knows precisely what we need and takes full responsibility for our care. 

What God Does Promise

While our relationship with Christ doesn’t guarantee a pain-free life, it does ensure that we’ll never face our challenges and hardships alone. God Himself is the blessing, and that’s something no one can take away. He walks beside us as we hike through the darkest valleys and up life’s steep inclines, speaking words of comfort and filling our souls with strength. Scripture also assures us that healing will indeed come, if not on this present earth, then when we pass into our eternal dwelling, where we’ll experience indescribable and inextinguishable joy. In the meantime, He invites us to turn to Him, lean on Him, and rely on His grace at work within us.  

This is what Scripture, when properly understood, points us to: Him and our ever-deepening connection with the One who formed us, sees us, guides and loves us, and will never let us go. He’s less concerned with eliminating our present struggles than He is with meeting us in them and giving us what we need to rise above.

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