By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
God’s Will and My Circumstances
Romans 8:26–32
I’m sure every student of the Scriptures is drawn to a different part of the rich tapestry of the life of Jesus woven by the four Gospels. Some will return again and again to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, others to the account of His walking on the sea or His feeding the multitudes. Many, perhaps most, will keep finding their way back to the Gospels’ accounts of the cross or the empty tomb. For me it is the story of Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane.
At Gethsemane we see the Lord Jesus in His most vulnerable moment. Mark tells us that when He left the disciples behind and took with Him only Peter, James and John, He “began to be greatly distressed and troubled” (Mark 14:33). He confessed to these three, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death,” and He asked them to watch and pray on His behalf (Mark 14:34). As He went off a little further to be alone He was overcome with the stress of the moment. He fell to the ground and began to pray (Mark 14:35).
The subject of Jesus’ prayer in this tender moment was the very subject that has occupied this series: wrestling with the will of God. Turning again to Mark we read, “Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36). As He faced the most difficult of circumstances Jesus wrestled with God’s will for Him.
Whatever our circumstances, the Holy Spirit intercedes and helps us pray as we seek His will. (26–27)
In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul picks up the topic of facing difficult circumstances and finding confidence in God’s will. His encouragement in Romans 8 touches on many of the same dynamics found in Jesus’ prayer in the garden. Paul assures us that when we do not know how to pray the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. He goes on to say, “The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” It is interesting to note that in the midst of His agony in the garden an angel from heaven appeared to Jesus, strengthening Him in His time of weakness. We may not see an angel when we pray, but we have the Spirit’s assurance that He will be there to help us wrestle through our difficult moments.
God will use our circumstances to accomplish His will and make us more like Christ. (28–30)
As Paul continues he encourages the Roman believers to trust that God’s plan for them was the right one. He assures them that God had already chosen them, called them and saved them. Surely He would see His will through to bring them through this difficult moment. This is surely the same logic that is at work in Jesus’ words, “Not my will but your will be done.” However much Jesus dreaded the cross, He knew God’s plan must be the right one and He would sacrifice everything to remain obedient to it.
We can trust God to work for our benefit. (31–32)
Paul goes on to make what is really his strongest argument for having confidence in difficult times. We trust God because we know the kind of God we serve. Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane begins with the words, “Abba, Father” (Mark 14:36). From the moment these words are uttered we know how Jesus’ prayer will conclude. No matter how much He might have wanted to be released from the cross, Jesus would go on to do God’s will because it was His father’s will. It was the will of the God in whom He trusted, the God whose love and care He knew to be real.
Paul draws a lesson from this moment for his own readers: If God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us, can there be any doubt He will be with us in even the most difficult of times?
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