Romans 8:28...it is a verse I have been chewing on for the past week. I love this verse and will often preach it to my own heart. The problem is, I am defining "good" by my own standard. Good, to me, means it will all "work out" in a Disney movie sort of way. Good, to me, often means life will smooth out and relaxation will come. Good, to me, ...leaves me waiting for the pretty bow on the package...for children to make wise choices, for a husband to understand my every emotional wave and tide, for money issues to disappear. For me, the word "good" is a word I often see in the "prosperity" sense....though I would tell you over and over that I hate the false "prosperity gospel".
I when I preach that type of truth to myself....I am DEAD WRONG.
The "good" of Romans 2:28 is defined in the very next verse! Oh why did we not grow up memorizing them TOGETHER?!
The good that God is working together in my life and in yours (if you are a child of the King), is that He is conforming us to the likeness of Jesus Christ! And He will use whatever it takes to accomplish that purpose and see it to completion. It's a total shift of focus and perspective, isn't it?
I think we are often robbed of so much joy in our Christian walk because we keep looking for physical, tangible, "good" to come out of our trials and pain...and when we don't see it, we lose hope and despair. We may even start to question whether Jesus keeps His promises. Our perspective is skewed so our conclusions will be faulty, as well.
BUT, if we gain a proper perspective....seeing life through the lens of Romans 8:28 AND 29...we have much to rejoice in and can trust fully in the promises of God. We can rest in the fact that there is not one trial, pain, or tear that is wasted. He will finish the good work that He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6) and the good work has nothing to do with material blessings or gifts (though, many times, those are ours in abundance, too!)....the good work is becoming like Jesus...for God's glory and for our ultimate good!
I read a blog post yesterday that took all the thoughts I have been thinking and drove the nail home, so to speak. I couldn't end this blog post better than with the words of Matt Papa:
I have spent too much of my life, and my prayer life, asking for God to lead me into His “perfect will”. “God lead me”. “Guide me”. “Use me”. “Bless me”. While I know that God is a gracious, condescending God who meets us wherever we are, I something wonder if God has been up there saying….
“Um…yeah. I’m Your Shepherd. That’s what I do.”
So there’s a problem revealed here. If I really believed that God was good….that He was my dad who was all powerful and all knowing and all loving….then I wouldn’t be repeatedly begging him to lead me with this certain twinge of anxiety. I would relax. Dad’s got me. Chill.
But I don’t believe it, obviously. And yet the problem goes deeper still. If the pulse of my prayer life is set on my future (“God lead me guide me help me”), and not on God Himself (“Our Father who art in heaven”) then this has revealed that there is really a rival god in the mix. An idol. “Success” or perhaps “Comfort” or “Control”. I want my best life now, not Jesus. Really what I have been asking is….”God make my life go perfectly”. “Make it exceptional.” “Make my life epic.”
Now….there’s nothing inherently wrong with seeking God’s guidance. But ask yourself this….”If the world could read my prayer journal….all in all…..would God look more like a genie or a treasure?”
Why are we so obsessed with “it” (God’s will) unless knowing “it” is more desirable to us than knowing “Him”?
Maybe God doesn’t want your life to be epic. Maybe He wants it to be normal. Maybe He wants your heart to be epic. And the path to seeing this accomplished is….your heart made more like his….will actually not come through the achievement of your plans but through their mutilation. God, for His children, will patiently and lovingly deny them of their desires until what they desire is Him.
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
What are you seeking? God or something He can give you. Your happiness is at stake. Your soul is at stake.
"Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God; my strong rock, my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-7
I when I preach that type of truth to myself....I am DEAD WRONG.
The "good" of Romans 2:28 is defined in the very next verse! Oh why did we not grow up memorizing them TOGETHER?!
The good that God is working together in my life and in yours (if you are a child of the King), is that He is conforming us to the likeness of Jesus Christ! And He will use whatever it takes to accomplish that purpose and see it to completion. It's a total shift of focus and perspective, isn't it?
I think we are often robbed of so much joy in our Christian walk because we keep looking for physical, tangible, "good" to come out of our trials and pain...and when we don't see it, we lose hope and despair. We may even start to question whether Jesus keeps His promises. Our perspective is skewed so our conclusions will be faulty, as well.
BUT, if we gain a proper perspective....seeing life through the lens of Romans 8:28 AND 29...we have much to rejoice in and can trust fully in the promises of God. We can rest in the fact that there is not one trial, pain, or tear that is wasted. He will finish the good work that He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6) and the good work has nothing to do with material blessings or gifts (though, many times, those are ours in abundance, too!)....the good work is becoming like Jesus...for God's glory and for our ultimate good!
I read a blog post yesterday that took all the thoughts I have been thinking and drove the nail home, so to speak. I couldn't end this blog post better than with the words of Matt Papa:
I have spent too much of my life, and my prayer life, asking for God to lead me into His “perfect will”. “God lead me”. “Guide me”. “Use me”. “Bless me”. While I know that God is a gracious, condescending God who meets us wherever we are, I something wonder if God has been up there saying….
“Um…yeah. I’m Your Shepherd. That’s what I do.”
So there’s a problem revealed here. If I really believed that God was good….that He was my dad who was all powerful and all knowing and all loving….then I wouldn’t be repeatedly begging him to lead me with this certain twinge of anxiety. I would relax. Dad’s got me. Chill.
But I don’t believe it, obviously. And yet the problem goes deeper still. If the pulse of my prayer life is set on my future (“God lead me guide me help me”), and not on God Himself (“Our Father who art in heaven”) then this has revealed that there is really a rival god in the mix. An idol. “Success” or perhaps “Comfort” or “Control”. I want my best life now, not Jesus. Really what I have been asking is….”God make my life go perfectly”. “Make it exceptional.” “Make my life epic.”
Now….there’s nothing inherently wrong with seeking God’s guidance. But ask yourself this….”If the world could read my prayer journal….all in all…..would God look more like a genie or a treasure?”
Why are we so obsessed with “it” (God’s will) unless knowing “it” is more desirable to us than knowing “Him”?
Maybe God doesn’t want your life to be epic. Maybe He wants it to be normal. Maybe He wants your heart to be epic. And the path to seeing this accomplished is….your heart made more like his….will actually not come through the achievement of your plans but through their mutilation. God, for His children, will patiently and lovingly deny them of their desires until what they desire is Him.
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
What are you seeking? God or something He can give you. Your happiness is at stake. Your soul is at stake.
"Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God; my strong rock, my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-7
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