Wednesday, August 16, 2017

When He Said “All Things”, He Means It (Part 3)

Verse of the day: Romans 8:31-32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

As we continue to consider what it means for God to work all things out for our good, we cannot discount all that the Apostle Paul pointed out in this chapter. We have been adopted into His family (v. 15). He has given us His Spirit who intercedes and strengthens us (v. 16-17, 26-27), and does this all by His grace. So, if He has done all this when we do not deserve it, why would we doubt that He would work out all circumstances for our good? If God is for us, there is no one that can stand against us; for nothing can separate us from His love, whether tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, angels, or anything else for that matter (v. 35, 38-39). The greatest thing that God did, and biggest sacrifice that He made, was not sparing His Son, our Lord and Savior for our salvation; and He did this even while we were yet His enemies (Rom 5:8). If He made such a sacrifice, the Apostle Paul asks, “How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” The bottom line is that God is not obligated to do anything for us or in our favor. Yet, He freely offers us eternal life, and therefore, anything short of that is not impossible when it comes to God working situations and circumstances out in our lives. No matter who comes against us, or what schemes others try to launch against us, God will intervene in His own way, and in His own time. There are even those moments when we make a mess out of our lives by the decisions and choices we make, and yet, God in all His love and grace, still can make, and will make, something beautiful from it. This does not mean that there will not be consequences that are painful or that we may have to endure for the remainder of our time here; but God is faithful to us, even when we fail. We can always praise God that He is better to us than we deserve and is always ready to restore us to fellowship with Him and rebuild what has been broken, when we repent, confess, and turn back to Him (1 John 1:8- 2:2). The bottom line is that we must not forget that we have a promise from God; a promise whose foundation is in the fact that God first gave us His Son freely, and promises to take care of us (1 Peter 5:7), even through the most difficult of circumstances, when we do not understand it, or maybe even like it. In the end (and I cannot say this enough) it will always work out, without fail, in our best interest, for our good, and for His glory.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

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