Journal Entry ~ 02/02/19

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. - Romans 8:28-29

Why is this passage so comforting? It begins with the words, “And we know.” We don’t merely think; we don’t merely wonder. We can know. The Spirit even helps us in our weaknesses when we don't know - God helps us to know.  

He helps us to know one of the greatest promises in scripture is true. The God we love doesn't break promises - He cannot lie. So even when it doesn't seem to be true in the moment, we can know that it still is. He *is* working *all* things for your good - that challenging relationship, that upsetting diagnosis, that disappointing decision. 

We struggle to trust the good in the promise because we lack the eternal perspective when we're caught in the moment. Our emotions run away with us as we face difficult moments - when our anger rises at being treated unfairly, when sadness overwhelms us in loss, when fear cripples us in crisis, we forget the promise and get lost in the moment. 

We resist the promise - either we come up with a plan and start begging for it in prayer, or our sinful hearts rise up in the moment allowing the emotion to consume us.  We feel justified in our anger, our sadness, our fear. The result of our resistance is that we end up in more difficult moments because things aren't working out the way we want them to work out. We get more angry, fall into deeper sadness, or give into greater anxiety. And we wonder how we get into trials upon trials.  Far too often, we walk ourselves right into them. 

But we can avoid all that if we change our perspective, trust in His plan, and know it is all for our good. It may not seem good at those moments, but He has a plan to work each difficult moment in our lives for our good. Yes, even the one you're facing right now. If you're having a tough time believing His promise right now, then get on your knees and pray for the Spirit to fill you with this truth until you can say, "I know this will all work out for good."  He will give you that. 

God won't necessarily tell us how and when He will work things together for good, but the promise we have is that He will. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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