Romans 8:18-30
We Know God Works for the good In Those Who Love Him Who Have Been Called According to His Purpose
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Job was sent tragedy after tragedy as we read the first part of the Book of Job...We learn that God sends us trials and tribulations and sufferings...One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with the angels...The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”...And the LORD, of course, knew where He had been, since He knows all things...Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”...Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job?...There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”...Job shunned evil and yet it was about to befall on him...
God had told the evil one to consider his servant Job...And often I wonder why would our Father do this?...
So God sent the evil one to Job...So we learn that God can send suffering to us, and He allows suffering to happen, even to the ones God considers good servants and to those He calls blameless and upright...So we learn this about our Father, who is LOVE and a Father of Comfort...And yet, we learn He sends and allows suffering to happen to different ones or all of us, as He did Job...And, I might add His Own Son, also...
God is LOVE, so we know that He must be teaching us a lesson...For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His Purpose...So Job was called for His Purpose...And Jesus also was called for God's Purpose...
Job with his friends have much dialogue with each other throughout the Book of Job, and we see that the focus of their conversation is on God...And we want to ask, why has God allowed all these tragedies happen to Job...So God maybe sometimes sends and allows sufferings to show us He is here with us...We may not like it, as Job certainly did not like it, but nonetheless it happened to him and now Job had to deal with it...God maybe wanted to show Job and maybe the evil one, His Great and Mighty Powers, if we can listen through the pain and sufferings for Him...When we think about it, if everything is going well and good all the time, and we have no trials how much time would we spend with God...If everyone had everything they wanted and everything gets better everyday, how much time would we pray to Him...I think it would be much less than when we are going through our sufferings, trials and tribulations...
So, we must listen to Him and for Him...He does everything for a purpose and it is for the good, we write again...For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His Purpose...
We know that Job said, I know My Redeemer lives...And we know that our Redeemer is our Savior Jesus...So one of the reasons of God's Purpose is to make us more Christ-like...C. S. Lewis wrote that the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs...If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time...
So when we read the Bible, its purpose is to make us more like Jesus...Many followers of Jesus turn to His Teachings and Actions as a response to suffering...God sent Jesus to earth knowing He would suffer on the Cross...And He allowed Jesus to die on that Cross...This has some similarities to Job...Jesus is our Savior and the One who exemplifies compassion, forgiveness, offering hope and solace amidst hardship...Believing this we can better focus on alleviating suffering for others and finding strength and comfort in Jesus' teachings...
So suffering is a refining tool for us...We might believe that God allows suffering as a tool for God to refine our character, develop our faith, and draw us closer to Him...Job emphasizes the importance of perseverance, enduring, and trusting in God during our difficult times...He also shows how must cling to God in our worst of times...
We learn that lessons can come through hardships...Suffering might teach us lessons about humility, our dependence on God, and a compassion for others...Somehow, as best we can, we need to seek God's wisdom and guidance during our hardships...Hardships can be an opportunity for our Spiritual growth, pushing us to seek solace and guidance from God, deepen our prayer life, and strengthen our connection with Him...This can lead to greater peace, acceptance, and trust in God's purpose which eternally for the good...
If we do focus on God's purpose, as the Bible teaches us, we better can see as Job in the end did that God has a purpose for everything, even suffering and it is too wonderful to put into words...Let us learn like Job to seek understanding and trust in God's overall plan, even when it's hard to comprehend...And let us be more like Jesus....