I know several
families that are struggling with life and living. The circumstances are different
but the struggle is the same. It’s hard for each of them and there seems to be
no resolution in the near future. There is uncertainty as to what will happen
and what they should do. There is certainly no easy choice or solution to the
problems. The go to verse I share with them is: 28 We
know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those
who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 HCSB
You
probably know those words and have said them and had them said to you. In the
later situation you probably got aggravated. Because all things don’t work for good. Good Lord just watch the news any day
and you can plainly see they don’t work for good or do they? That’s what it
looks like when we are in the trenches, in the moment, in the heat of the struggle.
It is not working your way when you want it and how you want it to so No, all
things don’t “work together for the good” of everybody. But that is not all of
the thought. We like to do that. We like to pick and choose what we “believe” removing
the best from context. What happens then is we get all upset when our NEW
translation proves to be false and we blame God. It’s not God’s fault and he
will not be manipulated like that. He loves us too much. No, the rest of the
verse has a qualifier. “All things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to his purpose.” See
why your own interpretation did not work it was your purpose not his. It takes
faith.
Not
that stuff again. Faith really? Why does so much of this Jesus life require
faith? Because, it all requires faith. Faith is what saved you, redeemed you
and sustains you. Honestly, you did not even have faith until God gave you enough
to believe. It seems like every time I turn around I need faith to believe God
will…..well your know…..something. That is true AND that is exactly where he
wants us to be. He wants us to know we are dependent upon him and him alone to
make it through this life and into the next. He asks us to be involved in his
plan and purpose through tasks but honestly we can’t even do that right. Take
for instance prayer.
We
have the model for prayer as Jesus taught “the Lord’s Prayer” but we can’t even
pray that because in that model we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others. OUCH!
Then there are the times of life when the struggle to breathe has worn us down
so that there is no breath to pray much less words. God steps in. 26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in
the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know
how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us,
making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far
better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us
present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives
of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:26-28 The Message
Do
you see why we can believe “all things work for good?” God is at work in them.
He has plans! He has plans for you to prosper. I want you to take a longer view
of your situation counting on Him who is able to step from the grave and asks
you to join Him. Yes, all things work for good in God’s plan.
BroG
