A Radical Promise
Romans 8:28 ESV says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Do you love the Lord? Have you been called according to his purpose?
Romans 8 teaches us that the life lived in the Spirit is lived in dependence on God—a God who can faithfully work all things together for good. How do we enter into such a life-giving covenant with God?
Life in the Spirit is challenging to quantify outright. How do you measure that which is unseen? As far as I know, no scientific instrument can measure the spiritual realm. The biblical and logical way to assess spirituality is to observe the fruit. This is why Jesus repeatedly says in his gospels that we will “know them by their fruit.” Perhaps you’ve read Paul’s words in Galatians on the fruit of the Spirit. We see the evidence of the Spirit, much like how the trees rustle in the wind.
Still, the scriptures have plenty of direction for how we ought to live in the Spirit. The premise of Abiding Daily is that God invites us to be more than sideline fans in the kingdom. He compels us to get fully in the game.
Walking in the Spirit continually comes with a promise. Just like Jesus taught us in Matthew 6 to sell the kingdom first, learning to live in the Spirit is the key to a life of overflow. God promises that when we live from the Spirit, he helps us in our weakness, shows us what to pray, and works all things together for good.
In other words, the pressure is off. Self-sufficiency bears the burden of determining outcomes. On the contrary, those who live in the Spirit are preoccupied with pleasing God by living from faith, pursuing a life of obedience, and living in love and truth. They live in freedom looking for fruit and evidence of the realities of the kingdom of God.
God has actually promised that he will turn everything to good for those who love him and have been called to his purposes. Pause today and return to love. So many barriers to freedom are broken down when we ask, “what does it mean to love God?” Similarly, seek wisdom or call to remembrance God’s purposes and calling. Who has he invited you to be? What does faithful obedience look like today?
Respond boldly, knowing that God is faithful to his promise.
Amen.
