Looking back on our lives, most of us can think of a situation which at the time seemed devastating, but in hindsight, we see it as mercy. A job you didn't get, a lover who broke your heart, a dream that never came true. In the depths of the disappointment, it's difficult to see how any good could possibly come from these situations & the feeling of loss can be overwhelming.
Thankfully, feelings are temporary, God's promises are not. If we allow ourselves, we can let current circumstances dictate our future success & happiness. As my friend Karen has said so many times, "Happiness is a choice, contentment is a command." Your present failures do not determine your future victories. Remembering & truly understanding that God sees the bigger picture is crucial. Picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, & moving forward with faith-motivated determination is the key to that contentment.
In Romans 8, Paul addresses the duality in our nature as Christians - our struggle to live as Christ intends & the battle against our sin nature.
Romans 8:28-39
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written:
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have a reason to be determined because:
- All things work together for good - Romans 8:28
- Because of God's seal & purpose in our life - Romans 8:29, 30
- Nothing can stand against us - Romans 8:31
- God sacrificed His son for our justification Romans 8:32-33
- Christ is interceding for us - Romans 8: 34
- Hardship, trial & conflict cannot separate us from the love of Christ - Romans 8:35, 36
- We are more than conquerors - Romans 8:37
- Neither death, nor supernatural powers, nor eternity, nor space or anything else in creation can separate us from the love of God - Romans 8:38-39
The events of your life, every one of them, are part of God's divine plan. The timeline is important - God is looking at our eternal good, not just what is good for us here & now. He is making us like Christ, conforming us to Him. In Genesis 1:26 God created us in His image. But, through our sin, that image became disfigured and scarred. His plan is to once again in eternity see us restored. Press forward, rise above your circumstances & keep your eyes on the promise of verse 39 - "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." The battle isn't ours to fight. It's already been won. God sees into eternity. He knows how the story began & how it ends. He gives us the opportunity to live out the pages in between.
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