Faith in God when life is difficult. 3

God has a number of reasons for using “all things” of our experience, the outcome of which will be for the development of our faith and trust in Him. The following points show the variety of purposes He uses. 

The “all things” conform us into the likeness of Jesus

Paul gives a key reason in the verses following the “all things” we experience in Romans 8:28.  Paul tells us in verse 29 that those who are in a relationship with God as Father have been “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son.” (v.29) He then goes on to say that the ultimate aim is that “those he called, he also justified” (v.30) so that the final end will be glorification.  

His primary purpose is to see His children grow and become more like His Son. God will use the trials and difficulties, the “all things” of life, to achieve that end. It is as we respond in faith to God, trusting Him with the outcome, that God is able to work things into our lives that will bring about that conformity to His Son. We will see how that works in the following ways.

The “all things” includes God’s discipline for our good

God is using the ‘all things’ as part of his discipline and correction, for He desires us to learn, grow and mature into the likeness of His Son.  Hebrews 12 tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves and accepts as sons and daughters (v.6). It’s the evidence that we are loved by the Father. Then in verse 10 the writer tells us that “God disciplines us for our good, that we might share his holiness.” The benefit of this discipline is that it will “produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (v.11) So one of the purposes of the ‘all things’ is God’s work of discipline in us, His training of us, so that we will grow and mature spiritually as part of a conforming work into the likeness of His Son.

The “all things” prove our faith and trust in God

Another important reason for God’s use of “all things” is to test our faith and trust in God. James 1:2-3 tells us that we should rejoice in our trials because they prove not only the genuineness of our faith but develop spiritual maturity which will lead to us being perfect and complete. This will be finally true when we see Jesus as He is (1 John3:2). Without the testing of our faith, our trust and dependence upon God will not be given the opportunity to grow. 

The “all things” guide us into blessing

When we are faced with hard and difficult times, we may wonder where God is in all that we are going through. Naomi felt that when she returned to Bethlehem after having lost both husband and two sons in the land of Moab (Ruth 1:20-21). She returns to Bethlehem a discouraged woman, conscious that their move to Moab had only resulted in loss for her. However, God was still there in control causing her to return to Bethlehem. There He leads Ruth in such a way that she meets Boaz, and through that will bring the blessing of God’s provision and security in a husband for Ruth. This will lead ultimately to the birth of the Lord Jesus. Although Naomi suffered much initially, eventually it resulted in a good outcome as God worked His purposes in their difficult situation. Job is another example.  We may find it difficult to trust God in periods of suffering, but our faith in God will ultimately be rewarded in ways that will prove best for us in the long term. 

The “all things” will bring glory to God by our witness

As we respond in faith and trust in God in the “all things” of life, God is glorified. It becomes a witness that will attract others to God. In 1 Peter 2:12 Peter says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” This is followed up in chapter 3:14-15, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” People are watching how we respond to our difficult and trying times. If our responses honour God and we continue to trust even when all seems to falling apart around us, people will want to know why, and this leads to Peter’s exhortation to be “always prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”(v.15)  It is a counterintuitive fact that it is the places where the church is persecuted that seem to be where the church is growing. Perhaps one reason why the church in the West is not as it should be is because we haven’t been put to the test of suffering in the way that our brothers and sisters in places like China have faced.

These five purposes encourage us to trust that God is in control and has our good at heart. Without the “all things” to deal with our faith won’t have any reason to trust God.  Dr. James Dobson has said, “The removal of adversity from our lives would eventually lead to the demise of Christianity on this earth.” Through our experiences of our Father’s goodness to us in the ‘all things’, our faith and trust in Him will grow as we become conformed to Christ Jesus.

Faith in God when life is difficult. 2

There are two kinds of promises in the Bible, conditional, and unconditional promises.  Unconditional promises are ones in which God has promised to do something irrespective of how we may respond. An example of an unconditional promise is Hebrews 13:5b: “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  On the other hand, the conditional promise has a certain criterion which needs to be true of us to have the assurance that God will keep the promise.  Romans 8:28 is a conditional promise because it says that God will bring about what is promised to “those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Why is this promise specifically directed towards those who love God?

Earlier in the chapter Paul has been referring to those who have the Spirit of sonship, that we are children, and “heirs and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17)  “We are eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (v.23)   This is what we are hoping for, and waiting for.  Furthermore, the Spirit helps us in our weakness enabling us in our praying even interceding for us in our weaknesses. (v.27)

It is in this context of a new relationship of sonship with God that we have the promise in verse 28. 

To come back to the question we asked earlier as to why?  This promise is directed towards those who love God, it is because we are now his children, and He is our Father.  As Father, His love for us will be seen in His desire to bless us with what is good.  As Jesus reminds us, “your Father in heaven [will] give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).  This is why when we pray to Him as our Father in our times of difficulties, we can trust and rest assured that He has it all under control, and will use the “all things” for our good. 

The “all things” may be tough and hard to deal with at times, but we know that He will be with us, and He knows how much we can take and will only allow what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), and we can rest assured that “The Lord watches over all who love him” (Psalm 145:20).

            What an encouragement to know that because of this relationship with God as our Father, we can commit all things to Him because we are His children.  We can have this confidence in Him because we love Him, just as we know He loves us (1 John 4:19).  And as we believe and actively trust God in those difficult times, our faith in God can grow as we experience His love and care in bringing good out of the trials that we go through.

            Next time, we will look at some of the different objectives that God has in bringing out ‘good’ in the ‘all things’ of life. 

Faith in God when life is difficult. 1

Faith in God when life is difficult.  1

            Many of us have faced hard and difficult times during this lockdown from Covid-19.  For some of us, it is the stress of loneliness and not meeting people, for others it is balancing work at home with home school, or the financial implications of the situation, which can lead to anxieties about the future.

            How can we trust God in these situations of life?  Is there anything that gives us the confidence to choose to believe that God is in control?  As someone has said, “Faith is not a feeling.  It is a choice to trust God even when the road ahead seems uncertain.”[1]  We will look at some verses that give us peace, confidence and hope in life’s difficult times.

            The first is one of the most quoted verses we hear when life is proving difficult, but is a verse that we need to use wisely when helping others in their difficult times.   What they need is empathy, a listening ear, and a walking along beside them through those times.  However, this verse can prepare us for those times when we find ourselves struggling with life.  The verse is Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This can be a hard verse to believe but it is one of many promises that we can use to strengthen our faith in God.  Often we are impatient and want to see how it is all going to work out immediately.  If we could see the end there would be no need for faith.  This verse encourages us to put our trust in God when the going is tough believing that the end, whenever that might be, will be the very best. 

To be forewarned is to be forearmed for those eventualities.  In 1 Kings 20:22 a prophet went to King Ahab and told him, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again."  King Ahab would have been foolish to have ignored that advice.  So too, God is helping us to see that we can prepare our hearts for the all things that we face in life, the good and the bad.  How we prepare is important. 

            One of the ways to prepare our hearts is to take in God’s word.  God’s word can reassure our hearts that He can be a trusted place of refuge.  His word strengthens our hearts so that our heart can rest in the knowledge that He knows and cares for us.  One example is Psalms 18:1-2  “I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Words like these can be a great comfort to us. 

            Another way to prepare our hearts is to rest in the promises of God.  Here in Romans 8:31-39 Paul reassure us with a promise that can give confidence for the future.  Paul puts it like this; no matter what may happen, whether it is “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (v.35)  “I am convinced that neither death nor life,…” or anything else “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(v.38)  What a comfort to know that we can believe this promise because no matter what may happen, we will be safe. What an encouragement to know that Jesus is also interceding for us. (v.34).  There are many other promises that we can take to heart and rest in as we believe that God will bring good out of the ‘all things’ which we face in life.  God may not work things out how we think or would like, and we may have to wait, but we can believe and rest our hearts in God to keep his word.

            To be continued.

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[1] On Facebook, Mindful Christianity Today, TobyMac#speaklife