Romans 8:18-30
Wednesday, 14 December 2022
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” - Romans 8:28
The entire chapter of Romans 8 deals with the subject of “Life in the Spirit.” The core issues of life such as suffering, and purpose are dealt with from the perspective of a child of God. Often, even those who have strong faith God are perplexed when encountered with sufferings. The myriads of problems that one may face will drive him to think that something is wrong in his personal life! But the key verse of today speaks clarity that if you are a child of God and are sure of your calling, then there is only one purpose for all things that will happen in your life – your good!! Even if it is the worst things – God will use it for your good.
When passing through a suffering, we may ask many questions – some of those questions will be about our existence as a child of God. Why did it happen even though you were a child of God! If we do not learn to see life from the divine perspective, life may seem miserable during such times. Everything in life hinges around the purpose of life – when we know why we live and what is going to be our future, it gives us confidence to face the challenges of today.
Romans 8:29 says that the purpose of our life is “…to become conformed to the image of His Son.” To get to that purpose, we need to go through a process! That process consists of a combination of God-planned paths we need to walk through and suffering is part of the process. Remember the silver smith who keeps his eyes on the sliver ring that he puts in heat of the refining fire until his reflection is seen on it!- the heat of the fire of certain experiences God puts us through is to let our lives reflect the image of His Son!
The story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis is a reminder to us often how God can use “seemingly” adverse life situations to make something beautiful at the end of it all. Joseph may have thought for a while that his dreams had come to nothing….but through it all—his being sold as a slave by his brothers, his stewardship in Potiphar’s house, his prison days and finally his rise to put in charge of Egypt…never once did God take His eyes off him—until He fulfilled His plan for Joseph’s life. These were his very words to his brothers at the end: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result…”(Genesis 50:20). He became their saviour in the time of famine!
Dear brother/sister, are you “in the heat” of some “adverse” circumstance that you think God has forgotten you? Remember that “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches over me!” (words from the hymn). As He brings you through, may your hope be constantly on the Lord who watches over every step of your life. His purpose is to mould you into Christ’s image and may we His children yield to the several “shaping” processes that He puts us through. His faithfulness will shield you as He works all things for your good!
PRAYER: “Dear LORD, help me to remember that You are working all things together for my good even when it doesn’t seem to be. Help me trust You as You bring me forth victoriously through every situation. Amen”
Listen - 'His eye is on the sparrow'
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