Scripture – “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. 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.”
Romans 8:28-29 NIV
Observation – Paul states that God, in ALL things, is working for the good of those who love him and he is conforming these to people to the image of Jesus.
Application – This sounds awesome but isn’t always going to feel awesome. If we are being conformed to the image of Christ it means we aren’t there yet. Many aspects of the transformation process will be painful. If you are out of shape and you want to transform your body so that it looks good and works properly it is going to take sacrifice and hard work. You will quickly see positive changes and then plateau. At this point you will need to challenge yourself even more and it will be painful and you will be tempted to quit. When Jesus saves us we are all spiritually out of shape. We’ll see some positive changes quickly (we’ll stop using bad words, be convicted of gossip, begin serving in our church). At this point we think we are doing great and then God starts chipping away at other areas of our lives and asks us to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow him. He asks up to lose our lives for his sake. This won’t feel like he is working for our good, we may even feel like he has forgotten about us. We’ll be tempted to quit because it just too hard. We’ll look at others and feel like they aren’t doing their part and we are being asked to sacrifice the most. God is working for your good! He is conforming you to the image of Jesus. Don’t be sad or mad, be glad! He loves you and wants you to be like Jesus. It may be painful but you will thank him for it later, why not thank him now during the process and show that you trust him even when you are suffering.
Prayer – Jesus, give us eyes to see life and eternity from your perspective. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 