Sometimes, our definition of good and what God considers good are a bit at odds. Honestly, the absence of difficulty is something I greatly value and appreciate. Wouldn't you concur? I just love it when things go smoothly. With no major problems or surprises to speak of and nothing to get in the way of progress and my (prayed over) plans being fulfilled. I know it sounds selfish and even unrealistic but isn't that how we generally want things to go?
It's easy to get so caught up in my circumstances that I lose sight of God's greater purpose for me. I might even think of Romans 8:28 in the midst of my difficult circumstances and think "God will work this out for good" and, to me, that might mean that somehow, someway good will come of this. And it's true, sometimes we can look back and see that if that difficult thing hadn't happened then we wouldn't be experiencing the blessing of something else. But it's more than that, isn't it?
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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 ESV
Bryan Chapell is pointing it out in the quote at the beginning of this post and the context of Romans 8:28 makes it very clear. The greatest "good" to be desired is the very "good" that God wants for us in every.single.circumstance. Everything that God allows in our lives presents us with an opportunity to be "conformed to the image of his Son". It's not automatic, as if something difficult happens and the result will be us being more like Christ. No, our response to our trials and ultimately our response toward God are major factors in determining what will come of the hard things in our lives.
I am trying to remember this when the unexpected difficulties come up. I remind myself that my sovereign God is not as surprised as I am. In fact, he's not surprised at all. It's an opportunity for me to respond as Christ would. It's an opportunity to submit to God's will, to trust him because he is a loving Father, and to seek his glory above all else. And what does that mean anyway? Could it mean that even though I am going through something hard that I can maintain my focus on his purposes for me? Could it mean that I can still say he is good and he does good things and mean it with all my heart?
The truth is, we will all experience difficulty in this life whether we know Christ as our Lord and Savior or not. For those of us who are his by faith and for those of us who love him as a response to his great love for us, we have an amazing opportunity. It is the opportunity to grow and change to be more like the one who gave himself for us. It is the opportunity to respond in trust, rather than give in to our doubts and despair.
God's ultimate will is to make us more Christlike. If you are his, you can be sure that he wants that for you more than anything else. Realize that learning to live your life more like your Savior is the greatest good you could ever hope for. I am learning this too. And it's not hard to notice as I look back over what God has brought me through, that my loving heavenly Father was working in every circumstance to teach me more about yielding, trusting and depending. I wouldn't learn it if I never had to do it.
In closing, I'll leave you with another quote from Bryan Chapell:
"Understanding that God's primary goal for our prayers is our spiritual transformation helps explain why he may delay his response to some requests. We may want a change in our circumstances, when God wants a change in us. We may need to persist in prayer to discern, for example, that we want a quick solution, but God wants growth in our patience; we want the removal of a troublesome co-worker, but God wants an increase in our love; we want an end to pressures, but God wants us to learn to trust him in everything."
It's easy to get so caught up in my circumstances that I lose sight of God's greater purpose for me. I might even think of Romans 8:28 in the midst of my difficult circumstances and think "God will work this out for good" and, to me, that might mean that somehow, someway good will come of this. And it's true, sometimes we can look back and see that if that difficult thing hadn't happened then we wouldn't be experiencing the blessing of something else. But it's more than that, isn't it?
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 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 ESV
Bryan Chapell is pointing it out in the quote at the beginning of this post and the context of Romans 8:28 makes it very clear. The greatest "good" to be desired is the very "good" that God wants for us in every.single.circumstance. Everything that God allows in our lives presents us with an opportunity to be "conformed to the image of his Son". It's not automatic, as if something difficult happens and the result will be us being more like Christ. No, our response to our trials and ultimately our response toward God are major factors in determining what will come of the hard things in our lives.
I am trying to remember this when the unexpected difficulties come up. I remind myself that my sovereign God is not as surprised as I am. In fact, he's not surprised at all. It's an opportunity for me to respond as Christ would. It's an opportunity to submit to God's will, to trust him because he is a loving Father, and to seek his glory above all else. And what does that mean anyway? Could it mean that even though I am going through something hard that I can maintain my focus on his purposes for me? Could it mean that I can still say he is good and he does good things and mean it with all my heart?
The truth is, we will all experience difficulty in this life whether we know Christ as our Lord and Savior or not. For those of us who are his by faith and for those of us who love him as a response to his great love for us, we have an amazing opportunity. It is the opportunity to grow and change to be more like the one who gave himself for us. It is the opportunity to respond in trust, rather than give in to our doubts and despair.
God's ultimate will is to make us more Christlike. If you are his, you can be sure that he wants that for you more than anything else. Realize that learning to live your life more like your Savior is the greatest good you could ever hope for. I am learning this too. And it's not hard to notice as I look back over what God has brought me through, that my loving heavenly Father was working in every circumstance to teach me more about yielding, trusting and depending. I wouldn't learn it if I never had to do it.
In closing, I'll leave you with another quote from Bryan Chapell:
"Understanding that God's primary goal for our prayers is our spiritual transformation helps explain why he may delay his response to some requests. We may want a change in our circumstances, when God wants a change in us. We may need to persist in prayer to discern, for example, that we want a quick solution, but God wants growth in our patience; we want the removal of a troublesome co-worker, but God wants an increase in our love; we want an end to pressures, but God wants us to learn to trust him in everything."
Learning that prayer is God's design to conform me to His will was a lesson that I didn't understand at first. It changed my life so much when I grasped this concept. His goodness to me is amazing... even if I can't see the goodness at first.
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