WATCHWORD:
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Meditation:
Memory Verse – 2/4
Romans 8:28 is one of the best-known verses in Romans and probably one of the best-known verses in the whole Bible. I think that is because we are joined together in one common fact of life – we all suffer. We suffered with pain, with loss, with hardships that seemed almost unbearable, and there are times when we want to know what God’s relationship to our suffering is. Did He cause it? Does He care what we’re going through? Can He do anything about it?
Verse 28 doesn’t tell us that God causes people to suffer, and it doesn’t say that God considers suffering in and of itself to be good. While we can concentrate on Romans 8:28, the fact is that all of Romans 8 deals with our suffering, and is helpful for understanding what suffering is all about particularly as a Christian. It doesn’t solve the problem of how God can be all powerful and all good and yet good people can suffer. How can that happen? It doesn’t solve that problem for us.
Paul has been describing the life of Christians on this side of heaven as one of groaning as we long to escape the suffering of this life and to be with our Father God in person. But it does describe how God is at work in a suffering world. We know He has identified with that world through his Son, who died on the cross—suffered—for our sins and participated with us in a suffering world. We know He’s with us in our suffering. We should find comfort in that through our faith.
One thing I should point out; the promise of God is limited to those who love God. As the verse states, “and are called according to his purpose for them“, his plan. In other words, His promises are limited to Christians, to those who are believers, to those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ. No matter how we are feeling on a given day, or how difficult the day seems to be, loving God is part of what it means to live in Christ. That’s who we are, each of us called to fulfill God’s purpose. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Treasure those Bible passages that you have found to be your favorites. Keep them close to your mind and in your prayers for they have been placed on your heart by our eternal father to remind you whose you are. You are a daughter/ son of the Almighty God. Don’t forget that for a moment.
Closing Prayer:
God, take my heart, my desires, my life and transform them to make me a stronger follower of Yours. I want to grow in my relationship with You, but I need to trust You more for that to happen. So help me on my journey, help me to connect to You more. I need you God, oh how I need You. Amen.
