God Works

 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.

Romans 8:28

I don't remember whether it was my own thought or I picked it up from someone else, but I've written in my prayer journal in response to Romans 8:28, "In the Beginning....In the Meantime....Till the End....God works." God works. He is always working. No matter what we see going on around us and no matter what lies the enemy whispers to us, He is working for our ultimate good. He never ceases, and He never rests in His efforts on behalf of us. What joy should we have, what assurance and what peace to know that the Creator of all things, the Infinite Almighty, is working His will and purposes in and through all of that which makes up our lives.

We live in a fallen, desperately sin sick world. We will never be immune to the effects of that on this side of eternity. But as the Word says, we are not those who live without hope. We are not victims to this broken world. In Christ, we are Victors over it. We are because He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness, death, and sin. We live in time, but He works in time through the perspective of eternity. Life will most often take us by surprise, but it will never surprise Him. When the crisis comes, He has already been working out His means of provision, help, deliverance, and victory. It is oftentimes a process, which is how He works "in the meantime." We walk with Him through the process, the meantime, and He works out our salvation in the journey. And there will not be only one crisis, but many. He will be faithfully working in the beginning of them, through their meantime, and to the end of them, and the end of our time here in the temporal. We rarely see this as it happens, but His expectation is that we take Him at His Word and trust that He is, and He's not at all limited by our circumstances or the seeming impossibilities that they carry. Such knowledge brings peace. Do we, do you, have such knowledge, such peace on this day? On all days?

As I look back on some of the darkest times that I walked through, I remember how I foolishly accused Him of "doing nothing" while I suffered. Now, from the perspective of looking back, I can see so many places where He was working on my behalf, piecing things, supplies, and people together to bring about His purposes for me. I came to realize that the reason I thought He was doing nothing was because I could only look around at all that was wrong. I was not looking upward to the One who promised to get me through and get me home. Maybe you're making that same mistake today. Paul in his writings talked about how not even the bite and sting of snakes and scorpions could deter him from the calling and purpose the Father had placed on his life. As someone said, he did not give his time to looking at the snakes and scorpions of the fallen realm, but upon the face of His Father and the reality of His Kingdom. We can do no less.

In the beginning. In the meantime. To the end....God works. May that be burned upon our hearts and minds. The only thing that can stand against the power and truth of this is our failure to believe it.

Blessings,
Pastor O