Scripture:
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
Theme:
Divine Assurance
Introduction:
In Romans, Paul is writing to a group of people who are the heart of the Gentile nation. These are a people who do not and can not relate to the strict traditions and rhetoric existing in the Jewish community. They couldn’t understand “Old folk talk”. They needed things to be broken down to plain and simple terms that relate to their real existence. Paul did just that.
For the Christian, frustration usually stems from the one primary source…the confusion between divine needs and human wants. We tend to couch expectations in a mixed bucket of needs and desires while not truly being able to delineate between the two or define the two in our lives.
Desires & needs:
- Physical — oxygen, food, water, hygiene, exercise
- Emotional – love, comfort, security, peace
- Things – money, clothes, home, job
- Spiritual – Salvation, faith, hope, charity
Struggle usually entails life with the absence of vital desires & needs. Some things are good to us and some things are bad. However, amidst it all, we are instructed to stand. No matter how our situation may look, no matter how bleak the resources may seem, no matter how at a loss we may feel, we are to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). How do we “press” and not get discouraged into quitting? How do we not let the depression “press” us out of the race?
Body:
First answer:
Old folks always said that God will supply your every need. Matthew 6:8—“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” God is our measure as to what we need and what we want. As Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding”. God knows our needs better than we do and He will supply our needs by promise. Our wants our supplied by provision.
Second answer:
The bible says first of all that we are to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) Seeking God first will result in all of our needs and desires being added to our lives according to His Will. Then the Bible says in our text that “all things work together for the good”. The needs provided AND the things added all work together for good, being God’s Will, since all good things come from God.
God understands our dilemma with THINGS. Things come from all sources…good and bad. However, it is our management of these THINGS that makes the difference in our lives. The way that we manage these THINGS is by putting it all into the hands of God. Proverbs 3:6 – “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and he shall direct thy paths.”
Requirement…”to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His Purpose.” There are three components to this requirement: 1)”Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and body” (Mark 12:30), 2)”He who hath an ear let Him hear” (Revelations 2:7), and 3)”that the purpose of God according to His election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth” (Romans 9:11).
After fulfilling the requirement, we can see that all of the THINGS that come up in our lives, even in the confusion between what we need and what we want, will work together for good.
Conclusion:
All sounds good and is true, but sometimes things don’t SEEM to be working together. SEEM is the subjunctive of SEE which is the action performed by a human sense. Therefore, SEEM connotes a HUMAN vision or perspective. As it says in I Corinthians 13:12, “For we see through a glass, darkly”. Humanity can only SEEM because human sight or perception is only in part. God is the source of our ability to SEE clearly, I Corinthians 13:12b,”but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” We SEE while God KNOWS!
While we are looking for an answer, God has already answered our prayers.
While we are yet pressing toward the mark, God still is the mark.
While we are still getting understanding, God has already said that He is “I AM”.
We SEE while God KNOWS.
He is omniscient and knows His children. I am so glad that I am His child.
We are blessed that God allows us to be like Him. 1 John 2:29 says, “If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him.” We are the “sons of God”! Therefore, we also can KNOW like Him. As the old hymn says, “I once was blind but now I see”. The hymn writer was referring to divine sight…KNOWING.
When we are going through trials and tribulations, we can say with divine assurance…”AND WE KNOW that all things work together for the good….” This is not human encouragement. We are not talking about something that we simply see in hindsight. This is something that we KNOW as we enter into our trials. No matter how things may look…AND WE KNOW! No matter how hopeless it may seem…AND WE KNOW! No matter how people talk about you…AND WE KNOW! No matter how broke you may be…AND WE KNOW! No matter how alone you may get…AND WE KNOW! No matter how tired you may be…AND WE KNOW! No matter how unappreciated you may feel…AND WE KNOW!
And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
