Are you going through something in your life because someone has hurt you, or you’ve made a poor choice? Things may have gone wrong… but God is making it right. It’s a promise from our good and gracious God. We’re going to dive into this good & gracious promise today, beginning in Romans chapter eight. Let’s go!
Show Notes:
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Transcription:
In order to get to today’s episode of the Bible for Busy People, you got to walk through the wardrobe with me. Hi, I’m Erica, your host, and yes, I love the Chronicles of Narnia. If you are a fan as well, you already know what I’m talking about. The adventures of the Pevensie children who went into a wardrobe to hide when they were playing hide and seek, and found a whole other world called Narnia. A magical place ruled by a great lion named Aslan. A world where good and evil existed, but in the end, evil doesn’t get to win, and that’s going to be the same story for our world someday.
So, yeah, I want to kick off this episode with a scene from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is the children I was just talking about, talking with Mr. And Mrs. Beaver. I mean, I know it’s a magical world, okay? One of the children says,
Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion. That you will dear and no mistake said, Mrs. Beaver, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly. Then he isn’t safe, said Lucy Safe said, Mr. Beaver, don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you who said anything about safe course he isn’t safe, but he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.
And now you may see why this is where I wanted us to begin our journey today, because you and I serve a great King. His name is Jesus. He’s the King of Kings, and He has a specialty. He works everything out for our good and His glory. He makes things right. So much in our world feels wrong right now, but we have a God who’s going to make it right.
You’re going through something in your life because someone might’ve hurt you, or you’ve made a poor choice. And things have gone wrong, but God is making it right. This is one of his great and precious promises. We’re going to dive in today to Romans chapter eight. This is the Apostle Paul writing to the Christians in Rome. Are you ready? Verse 15.
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.
Quick note here. This is the Message version of the Bible, and every once in a while, I like to stir it into the podcast.
It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
Isn’t that wonderful to consider? There are glorious times ahead. Ponder that today. Glorious times. Okay, verse 22, now.
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting,
By the way, is that you right now, you’re like, “God, when are you going to make this right?” Okay, let’s continue.
God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Now, I want to read that verse 28 for you in the New Living Translation as well.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Okay. God is a God of no leftovers, alright? I’m actually not a big fan of leftovers, right? And I love that God isn’t either. He uses every scrap of every horrible, bad, terrible thing that happens to us, and he turns it into good. He brings good in our lives. He’s the God who gives beauty for ashes. This old world has an expiration date. God is going to make a new world. He’s going to make things right. Just like at the end of all the Chronicles of Narnia after the last battle, it was a perfect place.
Remember the first episode this week? We talked about heaven? It’s a place where there is no more tears or crying or mourning or death or pain. No more evil, no more picking up your phone and scrolling to see the next terrible thing that happened. No, it’s going to be a perfect place. God is going to make everything right, everything new. That’s a promise that you and I can hold onto with both hands. God is a God who finishes what He starts. I think it’s Philippians 1:6… Hang on a second. Let me look it up here. Yes, where Paul writes,
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
I hope you heard that. I hope you heard that you are a good work, that he’s going to bring the good out of the bad and make everything right. It’s a promise from our good and gracious God till next time, you are really loved.
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