WE KNOW

We Know: The Certainty of God’s Promise

The Bible says in Romans 8:28 (KJV): “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.”

I absolutely love that the Apostle Paul didn’t just say all things work together for the good, but I’m thankful that he said - WE KNOW. This part guarantees certainty. It guarantees the certainty of what we are saying. And the statement that is being declared: we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

As I become older, I realize the pressures of life are a very real thing. Though there are moments of bliss and joy, and moments where we don’t seem to feel stress or pressure at any given moment, we can experience an emotional mood change that dramatically shifts to a place of stress and anxiety. We can feel the pressures of life, the pressures of death, the pressures of sorrow, the pressures of brokenness all around us. The pressure of living in a world that is devolving, and that has slipped farther and farther away from God over the many years and centuries that we have existed as a human race.

Nevertheless, those of us that have been born again and have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have received this inheritance and become divine partakers—partakers of His divine nature according to the scripture—we have this promise.

2 Peter 1:4 (KJV): “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

We have this consolation that God is working for us, all things working them together for our good. The writer said that He is the author and the finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV): “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

That which He has begun, He has promised to finish.

Philippians 1:6 (KJV): “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

It is the mistakes, the setbacks, the disappointments, the delusions. It’s those moments where we fall behind or slip, stumble, make stupid decisions that bring stress and unnecessary pressure to our lives—created by sin, delusional thinking, and just not looking at the big picture. We find ourselves often digging our own graves, opening our mouth and putting our foot inside of it. It is just human nature, the tendency of the flesh to miss the mark, to fail.

That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 3:10 (KJV): “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:23 (KJV): “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:19 (KJV): “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

The law was given to us that we would all become guilty before God—the law to expose our failures, our frailty, our shortcomings. With our limited knowledge and our limited understanding, up against infinite galaxies and the infinite wisdom and power of God, we most definitely fall short. Because we are but mere mortals, men made of clay with limited reasoning, limited wisdom, limited knowledge, limited power, and also susceptible to the lies of the enemy and the deceptions of the world all around us.

I write this article to anybody that’s struggling, and I also write it unto myself knowing that I face pressures and mountains, mistakes that loom in the past, insecurities and unforeseen circumstances that loom in the future, looming in the distance as a great mountain before me. And that all these things can bring great pressure—pressure that can make a grown man crack, that can bring someone to their knees, and if not managed properly, can utterly destroy them. Stress, pressure, insurmountable obstacles that weigh down upon us heavily.

I write this to encourage you that no matter how hard you fall, no matter what mistake you make, there is a God of grace that will lift you up and help you, and can make all things new.

Revelation 21:5 (KJV): “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

And that we know by the power of His grace and His mercy and His great love wherein He hath loved us, He has the power to make all things—the bad things, the good things, the mistakes that we’ve made, the failures, the disappointments. He can take all of these things and work them together for the good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose.

With this promise in mind, we must continue to strive and press our way towards the mark, knowing that God’s grace is sufficient and that in our weakness He is made strong.

This is what the Apostle Paul declared when he described the thorn in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 (KJV): “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Paul asked God to take away this pressure in his life, but God told him that His grace was sufficient and was able to help him, to help him deal with the temptation and the stress and the pressure that this thorn brought into his life.

So whatever it is, we push onward, we push forward, knowing that His grace is sufficient and that God can take the broken pieces of our life, mend them back together, and work all things for our own good. But all the glory and honor go to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved us and purchased us with His own blood.