I then flipped the painting to reveal a beautiful face of Jesus. So many Christians do this, with trite responses like “everything happens for a reason.” It’s like they're saying “I’m sure there’s good in this, somehow.” But in reality we only see an ugly circumstance or bad situation. Because he was an artist on stage, they probably assumed it should be good, and many even tried to make sense of the shapes. When he was done, everyone looked at it and most people just saw something ugly. Last Tuesday at the Porch, a very gifted painter completed a work of art on stage in a matter of minutes. You will somehow see that it produced good for you and in you. To sound even crazier, you will be glad that you endured it. God is saying there is an eternal benefit to enduring the suffering in this world.Ĭandidly, at the risk of sounding calloused, your suffering won’t matter 100 years from now, except for how you’ve benefited from it. If they see the results, they may even become addicted to working out. If they don’t see the results they desired, they often give up. As they see the benefit of struggling, sweating, and suffering in the gym, they continue to push toward a desired end goal. People work out to feel better and look better. There is a reward at the end of your faithful perseverance. In the same way that God has forgiven your sins, He has prepared an eternal blessing for you that you are enduring towards. The good is that God’s children will be glorified, like Jesus, as His brothers and sisters, for eternity. The good is described in verses 29 and 30. While that’s hopeful, the real hope comes from understanding what this "good" is. Romans 8:28 says that God will use someone stealing from you to bring about something good for you. But them having a reason doesn’t make it good. People steal because they want something – that’s the reason they take something from you. This is not just a trite “everything happens for a reason.” There’s no hope in that statement. Does that describe you? Do you acknowledge that God is using you for His purpose and that His plans are bigger, and much more important than yours?įor those who love God and have been called to His purpose, He is working out something good for them, in everything they are a part of. This promise is reserved for God’s children – those who love God, and those who have been awakened to the reality that God has a purpose and they are a part of it. This promise is not available to everyone. So far, we’ve assumed that this promise is for you, but it may not be. …of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. You can be certain that Creator God is at work in your every situation, to bring about something good for you. God is accomplishing something that will be good for you. He is intentionally working toward an end goal. He is not moving things around only to put them back, over and over again. He is not digging a hole only to fill it up again. If it’s bumpy, rest assured that He’s been here and has navigated these rough roads countless times. His hand has not left the steering wheel of your life. He is at work in your circumstances and situations. This God has not left you here to flail helplessly through life. He is the One who spoke creation into existence, formed you in your mother’s womb, and has numbered the hairs on your head as well as the days of your life. This incredible truth starts with God being at work in all things. Like we know that the sky is blue and grass is green, we know the truth that is to follow. It is a reality that we exist in and cannot deny since we practice it. The truth of this verse is matter-of-fact for the Christ-follower. When we dig deeper into it, we find it to be an even greater source of riches than we could even imagine. The hope in this verse, however, is a deep well of truth that’s anything but cliché. It’s so hopeful that it can actually come across as trite and cliché when offered to someone who is suffering. Romans 8:28 is arguably the most hopeful verse in all of the Bible when it comes to living in this fallen world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |