Someone Is There For Us

Romans 8:26-34

Today we continue on in our study of the 8th chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome.  How many of you have had times when you begin to pray about a very important and distressing matter, but find that the words to pray just don’t come?  Perhaps you are so overwhelmed that all you can do is cry.  Or maybe it is an important matter involving someone else, but you haven’t been given all of the details yet.  Will prayer work in these cases when we can’t even really speak?  Paul assures us in this passage that yes, it certainly will.

In verses 26 - 27, Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit, which all believers have indwelling in them, makes intercession for us.  We might not have the right, the best, the most articulate words to pray to God, but He does.  When we can’t pray, when all we can do is cry, and say over and over again, “Oh God, help!”, He is there interceding for us.  Even when we don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us in accordance with God’s will, so we can be assured that He will hear and answer.  The work of the Holy Spirit here is the same as that of the High Priestly work of intercession that Jesus does for us, which we read about throughout the Book of Hebrews.  God the Father knows what God the Holy Spirit thinks and says (vs. 27).  Both are part of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, bringing reassurance and support to our hearts.

Verse 28 is one verse that practically every Christian knows and has quoted at one time or another.  It has brought comfort and peace to many as they go through difficult times.  Let’s take a closer look at this well-known verse.  The first word of this verse is an important one - All.  God uses every event in the life of a believer, whether good or bad, for our good and our benefit.  God works all things, not just some things.  He will turn every circumstance around for our good.  Looking back into the Old Testament we can observe the lives of both Joseph and Daniel.  They went through some very difficult times - Joseph being sold as a slave by his brothers, then thrown into prison because of a lie, but God turned that around and worked it all for good.  Daniel was taken captive during the Babylonian overthrow of his homeland, then later thrown into a lion’s den.  There, too, God took bad circumstances and worked them for good.  We can trust that God will use whatever we are going through and work it for our good, as well.  We may not see it now, it may take years.  Sometimes we might not even see the good in our own lifetime.  But God is faithful and honest.  His Word says that He will work things out for good, and that He will do.

This promise is not for everyone, though.  Many people, when quoting this verse, only quote the first half, stopping in the middle.  There is no period after the word “good”.  The second half of the verse gives the qualifier.  God works things for good to those who love Him, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  In other words, God works things out for good to those who are believers.  All things don’t necessarily work together for good for the lost, the unbelievers.  God causes the rain and the sunlight to fall on everyone, so occasionally the lost do get the benefits of His blessings.  God, though, is not under any obligation to work everything out for their good, as He has promised believers He would in His Word.

Have you ever wondered what God’s goal for you is?  Paul goes on to tell his readers what that is in verse 29.  God chose us to become like His Son, Jesus.  His goal is to make us like Christ.  We accomplish that by reading and obeying His Word, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and doing His work.  This is a continuous process on earth, called sanctification.  God removes what is in our lives that is not like Him, or what hinders our sanctification.  He wants us to be just like Jesus in our character.

God’s call on us was not an afterthought (vs. 29 - 30).  It was settled before the foundation of the world.  God wants us to serve and honor Him.  He loves us, and will guide and protect us until we reach our heavenly home.  All of the words that Paul uses in verse 30 are past tense.  He did that to emphasize that it is certain, it is a done deal.  God will do this.

As he wraps up this passage, Paul assures us that nothing can ultimately triumph over us if we are believers (vs. 31-34).  Since God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, then doesn’t it follow that He will give us everything necessary to fulfill His purpose in us.  The charges and condemnations that Satan and his minions try to bring against us will not hold.  God has justified us.  Jesus died for us, rose again, and intercedes for us.

As this chapter will be wrapping up in the next week, we see the victory we have as blood-bought children of God.  It is something quite triumphant, and worth praising Him for, showing us the victory that we have through Jesus.