God fully intends for you to live the entirety of your life without a care in the world. His keeping power is so vast, and His desire for you is that you walk in divine health and prosper financially to the place where you never give your body or your finances a second thought. How do you get to this place?
In Romans 8:28, we find a very familiar verse of Scripture that is quoted by numerous groups of people. Unfortunately, it is misapplied in many cases because people take it out of its context. However, when this verse is kept in the right context, it is really great news for the person who learns to live by the Spirit.
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.
Contrary to what many people think, the things that “work together for good” are not car wrecks, strokes, heart attacks, loss, and other aspects of the curse. These things may be a part of life, but when these things do happen, it is the work of the Holy Ghost in the life of the believer that helps to turn these situations around. In the verses leading up to Romans 8:28, we find the actual four things that “work together for good to them that love God.”
- The first thing we see is found in Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Think about that for a minute. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead quickens your mortal body. The word “quicken” means to make alive, to produce active growth and development. I am thankful for this, but there is something beyond that. There is a quickening, life-giving spirit in you, affecting every part of who you are–spirit, soul, and body. Not only does it affect you, there is a life that radiates from you, ministering hope, peace, and healing to others around you because there is a life-giving spirit inside you. This is part of the Holy Ghost’s job and where He begins His work in our lives.
2. The next “thing” we find is in Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Thank God we can be led by the Spirit of God! God never intended for us to navigate this world using a trial and error method. He provided to us the greatest Guide, the Holy Ghost, to lead us with every step we take.
When situations arise that we were not expecting, with the help of the Holy Ghost, we can find ourselves victorious as long as we keep our focus on His leading and guidance. He will always lead us to victory.
3. The third thing we see is found in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we have been made children of the Most High God, and we are joint-heirs with Christ Jesus. This truth is a game changer because no higher status exists than where you sit as a son or daughter of God.
Romans 8:1 brings out an important truth concerning the sons and daughters of God. It says, “There is therefore NOW NO condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” The Passion Translation says, “So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One.”
In recent years, I saw a poll measuring a person’s sense of guilt based on the United States population. Nearly everyone polled felt guilty about something. The reasons varied from feeling guilty because of something someone had done in their past to feeling guilty because of a privilege that person had while others did not have it. However, the largest segment of the population felt guilty for no particular reason at all; it’s just part of human nature being born into this natural world where the nature of sin abounds. Accompanied by that nature of sin is the feeling of guilt and condemnation, and Satan loves to exploit this feeling of guilt. He uses it to make people feel inferior and unworthy. This will lead to people thinking and talking wrong and, therefore, settling for much less than God’s best for them.
However, when you know you are a child of God and a joint-heir with Christ, you know that God has provided something better for you. You must not allow condemnation to have any amount of grip on you. To break free of it, you work with the Holy Ghost as He bears witness with your spirit, reminding you of who you really are in Christ Jesus.
4. The fourth thing that we find in this chapter is contained in Romans 8:26, “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. 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.”
This, of course, is referring to our prayer life. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray, even when we don’t know what to ask for, and His help in this area of our lives is vital to living a victorious life.
Friend, these four things that the Holy Spirit does for us–quickening our mortal bodies, leading us, bearing witness with us that we are children of God, and helping us in our prayer life–are the “things” that work together for YOUR good. God never intended for you to walk through this life, unable to live care-free. With the help of the Holy Ghost, you can walk in the perfect will of God for your life, experiencing victory in every season!