Learning to Trust God in our Weakness
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Illustration: Why did this have to happen to me?
The theme of Romans 8 is summed up in one word. Do you remember what that word is? Assurance.
This spiritual blessing of assurance is primarily attributed to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8.
In vv. 2-13 Paul describe the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of LIFE.
In vv. 14-17 Paul described the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of ADOPTION.
In vv. 18-30 Paul now describes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of GLORY. We can have assurance because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit who guarantees future unimaginable glory for the children of God.
What truths must we lean our full weight into so that we fully trust God even when He permits suffering in our lives?
What We Don’t Know
What We Don’t Know
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Likewise / In the same way- How do vv. 26-30 connect back to vv. 18-25?
VV. 18-25 argument? When we by faith trust God’s words about the nature and weightiness of our future glory it enables us to patiently endure the sufferings of our present reality.
Our confident expectation or our hope of our future promised glory sustains us through our present sufferings.
Likewise / In the same way (as that hope sustains us)—so the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
Helps- to help by joining in an activity or effort. Why does the Spirit need to join with us to help us? Why does the Spirit need to bear our burden along side of us?
Because of our weakness? What weakness is Paul referring to here?
View 1: specifically referring to our inability to pray correctly
View 2: generally referring to weakened condition of all humanity brought about by the corruption of sin. Our weakness is the total depravity or total corruption of every part of us by sin. My understanding.
Paul then highlights one of the effects of our weakness or our total depravity- we (even born again believers) do not know what to pray for as we ought.
Jesus helped us to understand this area of our weakness when He taught us to pray this way, “nevertheless not my will by yours be done.”
We don’t even know what to pray for.
Illustration: Meeting Jim for coffee asking to date Sharon- told me I needed to wait. I didn’t know that I needed to pray that God would allow me the trial of waiting to date my future wife for months and months with only one letter a week. But- oh how I learned to trust God during that time! It is exactly what I needed. Had no idea that I needed to pray for that however!
Illustration: Loosing our apartment management job, getting another one but in a terrible situation, so that we would move to Oconomowoc.
Illustration: Waiting and praying for 14 years before God allowed us to build our new building.
Illustration: Teenagers that don’t know what is really good for them, and cannot know without years of experience and perspective.
Because of our weakness we do not even know what to pray for as we ought to. We don’t know how to pray in line with the will of God every time or even most of the time.
But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words
Sometimes we interpret this verse as the believer who is the one making the groanings. When we don’t know what to pray we groan and then ask the Spirit to aid us in our prayer.
However, Paul is probably referring to a ministry that is solely the work of the Holy Spirit on our behalf.
The groans that Paul speaks about are the Spirit’s intercessory prayers on our behalf that takes place in our hearts and they are imperceptible to us. When we pray amiss because of our weakness, the Spirit of God is working on our behalf. He graciously makes intercession on our behalf to the Father. And the Spirit’s prayers of groaning are perfectly in line with the will of God. And they are specific to each one of us.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Here Paul explains why the intercession of the Spirit is so successful. The reason the ministry of intercessory prayers by the Spirit to the Father are so effective is the perfect oneness that exists between the Godhead.
The Father is the one who searches deep within our hearts. He sees our inner-most being, which is exactly where the indwelling Spirit resides. And because we are indwelt by the Spirit in our inner most being, when God searches us and know us deep within, that is also the place that the intercessory ministry of the Holy Spirit takes place. Because of this important ministry of the Holy Spirit on our behalf we can have confidence that the Father knows, acknowledges, and responds to the prayers of the Spirit on our behalf.
Remember the theme of Romans 8? Assurance of our salvation! Oh what assurance we have! A little later on in Romans 8:34 Paul tells us that there is one in heaven, the Son of God, who intercedes on our behalf defending us from the one who would condemn and accuse us, guaranteeing salvation in the day of judgment. But there is another, the Holy Spirit of God, who intercedes for us “in our hearts” effectively praying to the Father on our behalf as we go through trials and sufferings here and now on this earth.
Believer, you could not be more secure in your salvation!
Application: I want you to think about the last trial you went through. During that time of suffering did you complain about it? Did you grumble or feel sorry for yourself? “Why did this have to happen to me?” Friends, that is a sure sign that we are not trusting the Lord. We are not leaning our full weight into His words.
Think about what He is saying to you in this text:
Because of our weakness we are NOT ABLE to even pray for the things that we should. We do not know what to ask God for so that we are prepared for the glory that awaits us. BUT, the Holy Spirit does. He knows exactly what we need. He intercedes for us in perfect accord with the will of God.
The next time I am in the middle of a trial and I say something like this, “why did this have to happen to me.” I must acknowledge this truth- I don’t know how to pray for the things that will prepare me for the glory that is to come. Perhaps the Spirit of God interceded for me for this exact trial. Because, even though I don’t know it, this trial is exactly what I need to test my faith so that it might result in the praise and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Implementation- I will choose to trust the unspoken groanings of the Holy Spirit who is constantly interceding for me. That means rather than complaining about my circumstances I will instead rejoice in them. I will not rejoice in the pain and suffering of the trials themselves, but I will rejoice trusting that on the other side of the trial my life will bring more praise and glory to God at the revelation of Jesus Christ than before.
Lord help me this week to kill the sin of complaining over my circumstances and instead to replace it with the choice of trusting and rejoicing.
What truths must we lean our full weight into so that we fully trust God even when He permits suffering in our lives?
What We Do Know
What We Do Know
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We don’t know how to pray, we don’t know the small details, we don’t know the why’s. We do know the grand plan of God for our lives.
This verse is conditional: for whom? Believers/ all believers? super Christians?
For those who love God- how much do you have to love God?
Who are called according to his purpose? Believers. These two phases seem to be in parallel. So if you have been called by God then you also love God. So this is true of all believers.
Paul says that as believers we know that all things work together for good.
All things do not tend toward good in and of themselves. But rather God is sovereignly in control of all things and uses even bad things in our lives for our ultimate good.
Murphy’s Law- anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
We are having a picnic on Labor day- it’s probably going to rain.
Romans 8:28 doesn’t mean that God will always give believer’s sunny days for their picnics. It does mean that God will sovereignly use the rain and the cancellation of the picnic you were looking forward to for your good.
Important! What good are we talking about? Who gets to define what good means? God does.
Good = called according to His purpose.
What is God’s purpose for you?
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me as a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
7 “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
9 Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.
Job 42:1–2 (ESV)
1 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
I know you can do all things
This may sound like a statement of God’s omnipotence. God you have the strength to do anything. But the second line (in parallel with the first) clarifies Job’s meaning.
No purpose of yours can be thwarted
Job is not confessing God’s power, but God’s sovereignty. His ability to do anything He chooses and his freedom to do everything He purposes.
I know that you can do all things (i.e., anything you want); No purpose of yours can be thwarted… the idea of this is your thoughts cannot be thwarted, Your purposes impeded, Your decisions hindered.
So what exactly is Job seeing as true about God, in a way that he previously did not understand?
God not only can do anything He chooses; He actually does do anything He chooses. What God purposes or wills God does. He is sovereign and free to make certain His will.
Not only is God sovereign and free to do whatever He wills, but Paul tells us in Romans 8 that God is also GOOD!
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
I think of Horatio Spafford, after loosing his daughters in a ship wreck, and receiving that telegram from his wife, “Saved alone” penned these words,
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
“It is well, it is well with my soul”
Do you see God that way? Do you trust Him, do you see Him as He has revealed Himself to be- sovereign and free / and at the same time good. Do you trust Him?
What truths must we lean our full weight into so that we fully trust God even when He permits suffering in our lives?
Here is the truth: We know that our sovereign free God who at the same time is also benevolent and who is working His good purpose out in our lives. We don’t know the why! But, we know the WHO. We know who is in control of all things, and we know His ultimate purpose for us!
Romans 8:29–30 (ESV)
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Do we trust God in the moments of life as He prepares us for that coming day?
Application: Are you more like the Job of ch. 31? I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him.
Or are you more like the Job of ch. 42? I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Think back to the last trial you went through, or you are currently going through. Did this thought run like a poison through your minds, “I don’t deserve this!” “What did I do to have to go through something like this?”
Or did you lean your full weight on WHO you know God to be. God I know you are good, I know you have a purpose for me and you are working toward that purpose. Lord you can do all things, no purpose of your can be thwarted.
Implementation: How will you put this truth into practice this week?
Read Job- especially Chapter 38-42. Meditate on WHO God reveals Himself to be. Spend time in prayer telling God how you will think about Him according to His revelation. Spend time thinking about how that truth might shape and change you the next time you face a trial or go through suffering. Put the Word into practice this week!
What truths must we lean our full weight into so that we fully trust God even when He permits suffering in our lives?
We must dwell on what we do not know, and what we do know about God. We must apply this truth to our Monday mornings, and we must make a plan to implement at least one step of obedience from God’s Word. This is how we grow as Christians. How would implementing Romans 8:26-30 change and transform you this week?