GOLDEN TEXT:
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Though there are times that we go through hard trials (and no one is exempt) we should never let it get us to the point of giving up. Too many times we give the enemy credit for a tough battle when it was God who thought us worthy for the challenge, which was only intended to produce growth. There are times that the enemy masterminds a storm, but don’t ever lose hope of the eternal reward. Reflect on the victories that our Lord prepared us with so that your vision remains clear and you can keep the focus on the prize.

18 For I reckon (calculate, add up) that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
…….Do this for yourself, add up all of the heartache that you’ve ever been through, now compare it to an eternity of the presence of God’s glory!…….Now may we ask ourselves, is it worth it?!

19 For the earnest (ambitious, anxious) expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
…….All who live the life of salvation have a forever longing to completely be manifested by his Spirit. The day of no more fleshly bondage, no more struggle and ultimately no more failure. Our hearts cry should always be longing for that great escape!

20 For the creature was made subject (arranged) to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
…….Notice the “subject to” but not “subject of.” We were not created out of sin or to sin, but created in sin. We are in this huge war of corruption, but it is up to us not to conform, but to fight.
We were placed by God in every battle as a soldier taking his orders, not by personal choice, but obediently chosen.

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
…….”Because”, there is always a reason behind the bondage. A soldier is no different than a piece of pottery being placed into the oven time and time again to reach the point of being useful……I don’t want to be a useless Christian!
Though there is no choice of being in the bodage of corruption, there is a glorious freedom to look forward to!

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
…….That groaning is an internal cry of misery, heartache and anxiety for deliverance.
Misery from the fact we cannot within ourselves reach perfection.
Heartache because it seems that no one else understands the struggle.
Anxiety because of the temptations that never seem to end.
Because of all this we travail in agony, but that travailing causes a greater walk with God!

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
…….Even those who work in ministry are subject to this groaning, and at times more severe.
I can remember the day I accepted the call to Ministry. I sought wise counsel and found a minister who encouraged me in what God had told me to do, but in this he also warned me. He warned me that there would be many people who would come against me, most of them would be the closest to me and would disagree with me on things that didn’t add up to their standards.
I have found that there will be people who disagree with you because you received it in a different manner then they did. People who find it not fair because you have a sense of Liberty that they don’t enjoy. But at the end of the day, it is our duty to continually strive for his promise.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
……. Our Salvation is not set on something that we can see or predict, but only what we can hope and expect to come. That is where faith is produced.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
……. One of my absolute favorite versus here. Even though we grown and struggle, his Spirit which lives inside fights the battles that we don’t even see. With that in perfect understanding, we should never feel inadequate in the battles that we can see. There is a knowing that if he is fighting the battles that we cannot see, his vision is not impaired to the ones we can see!

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
…….The Spirit continuously pleads to God for help and strength to keep this Flesh on the right path. What a loving God, to send an intercessor on the behalf of our needs.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
…….All things=every single thing.
Every good and every bad! What a thought. He may not have chosen certain paths for us, but he can sure make a mistake into a masterpiece!

While your hope is in Christ, his hope all the while is in you!