“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:28-29).
GOD’S GOAL IN OUR LIVES IS TWO-FOLD: experience the life of Christ and, as we walk through challenges, be conformed to the image of His Son. The following is how this works out for us.
We are being conformed to the image of Christ. We may be tempted to read these verses from Romans 8 to say that God will bring good out of everything. While He can and does redeem pain in our lives, these verses speak of being conformed to God’s image through our suffering. The gain may be only realized in eternity.
We mature and grow spiritually when we work through pain as seen in James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-7, and Romans 5:3. Maturity is costly. We pay a price to grow, and that usually involves pain in some fashion. Hebrews 12:11 says that discipline is painful but those who are trained by it will yield the peaceful fruits of righteousness. We learn and rely on the Word (see Psalm 119:50, 67, 71). Pain drives us to find answers and a solid foundation on which to stand and, in confidence, move forward.
We are blessed and receive God’s blessing as described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Being poor in spirit, mourning, hungering, and being persecuted all have blessings attached to them.
Character is produced through adversity (see Romans 5:3-5). Character is both shaped and revealed, refined and built, when going through difficulties. In Isaiah 48:10 the Lord says, “I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”
The meaning of this verse makes it clear that pain and suffering have a way of bringing our strengths and weaknesses to the surface. When the dross floats to the surface, God skims it off; He purifies and refines us to be the radiant bride of Christ.
“We mistakenly look for tokens of God’s love in happiness. We should instead look for them in His faithful and persistent work to conform us to Christ.” — Jerry Bridges
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Purchase the Entire Devotional – “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”
The devotion above was taken from the 52-week Devotional entitled “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”.
Many give a mental assent to this teaching yet are often asking, “What do I do? What does Christ as life look like?“ Too often Christians err by moving too far to one side or the other—reducing the Christian life to a list of do’s and don’ts, or they actually do nothing.
These inspiring weekly devotions are just some of the actions that reflect the life of Christ in each of us, and they explore four areas as we follow the One Leader, Jesus Christ –
- A Foundational Focus
- A Personal Focus
- A Relational Focus
- A Missional Focus
Be challenged, encouraged, and spurred on to a deeper walk with Christ.
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Praise God, wonderful heart touching lives building message that God causes all things to work and God’s Goal in our lives thank you sir so much