Posts
“Give yourself permission not to know and be satisfied knowing the One who does.”~ by Joyce Meyer, I Dare You
Because ". . . 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) In context, the Apostle Paul wrote these words to Christians in Rome who had to have been beside themselves wondering whether God was really even hearing their prayers in the midst of some very real suffering and affliction.
Doesn’t every Christian sometimes wonder that same thing? Yet, Romans 8:28 is very clear: in everything God works for good. Paul wanted the believers to give themselves permission not to know -- not to understand their suffering -- and simply be satisfied knowing the One who does know and does understand?
Period. End of explanation. But I’d be quite a foolish teacher and writer to stop there.
So here we go: It would do us well to skip verse 28 entirely until we fully understand verse 29. When you start with Romans 8:28 -- or worse yet, use it as a solo verse -- you run the risk of turning profound Biblical truth into a trite piece of conventional wisdom.
I’ve heard many Christians mumble Romans 8:28 as a capsule of encouragement for life’s problems – sort of a theological version of the proverbial saying that “in every cloud there’s a silver lining.” To reduce Romans 8:28 to conventional wisdom would be to do a terrible injustice to Paul’s teaching and to rob God’s Word of its truth. Open the door with me to a better understanding:
Romans 8:29: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” See, God is at work among us -- He has been for centuries -- and He is in absolute control. He will bring about His intended purpose. The eternal plan will unfold. But make no mistake; this does not mean that God plays with our lives like puppets for His Divine amusement. Neither does it mean that God is “letting be what will be.” (♫ ♪ Que Sera Sera ♫)
Not at all. God has an eternal plan and He is working to bring about his saving purpose -- that is, to conform Christians to the image of his Son Jesus.
Think about the life of Jesus. He died a cruel death between two criminals for me. And for you. And THAT is the journey on which the sovereign God is taking us . . . a Death to Self.Becoming in Christ’s image is by no means a glorious thing -- only light and love and good thoughts (good grief!). Rather becoming in Christ's image is something that happens in the everyday depths near which we always always find ourselves: stressed out, sick, facing tragedy, suffering, confused, brokenhearted, hopeless, helpless . . . .
True: There's really not a lot of optimism here. It’s not as if “all things work together for good” means that there is some small increment of good that is always being worked out in spite of appearances. (A silver lining behind every cloud . . . ) That would be false hope. God’s Word does not do that.
When we start with Romans 8:29 and know that it is the image of Christ to which we are being conformed, it keeps us from reducing 8:28 to the idea that there is a hidden good in our present suffering and the evil that surrounds us. It prevents that “every cloud has a silver lining” kind of thinking.
God’s eternal purpose is infinitely wider and deeper than silly platitudes that everything will be all right. God’s eternal purpose is not separate from but encompassing of our suffering and confusion. God’s eternal purpose uses even the worst that sin, death, and Satan have to give us in order to bring about His eternal purpose.What sustains us in our present suffering and confusion is to know our prospect of a future glory and to know for certain that God is fulfilling His eternal purpose in our lives yet today. . . but in His time.
“Give yourself permission not to know and be satisfied knowing the One who does.”
~ by Joyce Meyer, I Dare You
~ by Joyce Meyer, I Dare You
~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen
© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife
© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife
This installment of InOtherWords is hosted by Nina on her blog, Mama’s Little Treasures.
12:00 AM | 22
comments | Read More
