I hope this verse gives you confidence and helps you stay at peace, no matter what is happening.
“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” Ro 8:28 BSB
So, we can be assured that this promise applies to us if we love God and…and are called to His purpose. So what’s His purpose? To love Him with all we’ve got, yes, but then to love others the way He loves us! Love is at the center of God’s purpose because it most fully reflects who He is, His nature, His character. God does not have to think about loving someone, He IS Love and so everything He thinks, says and does IS motivated by that Love. When God displays His wrath, it is because He loves people and wants them to be drawn to Himself and live forever. When God rebukes us, it is because He loves us too much to allow us to go down any sinful roads. When God sent Jesus, allowed Him to hang on the Cross, and resurrected Him from the grave, it is because He loves us and wants to forgive all our sin, so we can be with Him forever. And once we receive His love and begin to love Him in return, we cannot stop there.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself. If we truly love God, then this call according to His purpose will naturally flow. We will want to love others. We will want to serve. We will want to encourage, comfort, even rebuke others so that they too can love God and be called according to His purpose. We do not stop at loving God, we continue this journey and love one another. This requires growth. This requires leaving our selfishness behind and becoming transformed into the image of Christ. This requires our willing hearts and open minds. Willing hearts encase God will not force us. Open mind because the way we would do things and the way God does are so very often as different as night and day. He sees life from Eternity, we barely see it from our own perspective. Living this New Life we have been given require Faith, Hope and Love…and the greatest of these is…well, more tomorrow.
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12
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Holy Week break: Lk 23:34; Lk 23:43; Jn 19:26; Mt 27:26; Jn 19:28; Jn 19:30; Lk 23:46
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15- 2Chron 20:15b
16- 2Chron 20:17
17- Ro 8:28
<>< Peace, Diane
