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by Katie Erickson

“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. 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.
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. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:26-30)

As we’ve seen many times in our journey through Paul’s letter to the Romans, context is very important to knowing what’s happening in any particular passage. We have to break it up somewhere, and sometimes what comes before is very important. This is one of those passages, since Paul starts here with, “In the same way…” Here, he’s referring to the hope that we have for future glory despite our present sufferings. Just like hope for better things sustains us through suffering (see last week’s post), the Spirit sustains us through our weaknesses. Paul established that we have to wait for our future glory, so here he shares about how God gives us the tools we need to do that waiting.

Paul gives two tools that we can use to help us as we wait for our future glory: the Spirit who helps us pray (verses 26-27), and knowing that God oversees everything (verses 28-30).

Our view of life is short-sighted. We really only see the here-and-now; we don’t see the big picture that God sees. While we may be able to look a little into the future with what we think might happen, it’s just that - what we think. Just because I start attending college and expect I’ll have a degree in a few years doesn’t mean that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Some sort of tragedy could occur in life, thus causing me to stop my studies, or run out of money to pay for them. Recently there have been a couple tragic car accidents that have taken the lives of young mothers in my area; those families didn’t expect that kind of major loss in their lives.

So, because we don’t know what will happen and we don’t see the big picture, we really don’t know what’s best for our lives. If we don’t know what’s best for us, we don’t necessarily know what we need to pray for. Fortunately for us as followers of Jesus Christ, that’s where His Holy Spirit comes in. This is what Paul is talking about here where he says that, “the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” When we don’t know what to pray, the Spirit is praying for us! Even when we think we know what to pray for, the Spirit is still praying for us. The Spirit sees God’s big picture for our lives, because the Holy Spirit is God.

Because of the Spirit interceding for us, we can fully know that God is overseeing everything. Verse 28 is a great promise for all believers, but make sure you’re understanding it correctly. It does not say that everything will work out the way WE want it to, but everything will work out the way GOD wants it to. God is sovereign and will work everything for His purposes. Remember how we can’t see the big picture in our lives, but God does? That’s why His purposes are way better than ours. God is omniscient and knows everything that’s going on.

So what is God’s purpose? Paul elaborates on that in verses 29-30. God creates, sustains, and brings His people into His glory. God’s plan begins with His decision to enter into relationship with us (that’s where He “foreknew” us). The word “predestined” here means to direct toward a particular goal. God guides and directs us along His path for our lives, as long as we are paying attention to what He is telling us. The ultimate goal and glory of a Christ follower is to be conformed with Christ, which is to be justified and glorified.

How are you doing at using these tools God has given you? Are you praying for what you think is best, and allowing the Spirit to intercede for you? Are you trusting that God knows what really is best for your life, and that He will work everything out to His purposes? I hope this passage from Romans 8 encourages you in these things, as it continues to encourage me.

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