The Plumbline

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:26-28 NLT) We frequently hear the verse reminding us that God works all things out for our good. We seldom quote what comes before that verse, overlooking the fact that we will have moments when we are weak, when we don't know how to pray, and when our heart will be hurting so much that we don't even want to pray. The more we 'don't know' what our heart is trying to express, the more we need the Spirit within us to express it for us. The 'good' God will bring forth from experiences where ...

Yes, it is God who is working in you. He helps you want to do what pleases him, and he gives you the power to do it. (Philippians 2:14) Like it or not, God is at work. Where? In you and in me. We aren't ever going to escape his work - he began his work in us when we said yes to him, and he will surely continue that work as long as we draw breath. Do we always appreciate or welcome his work within our lives? Not hardly! There are times we are just plain stubborn and don't want to have his 'interference'. We see what he is doing as 'bothersome' - mostly because his work is bringing conviction, and we don't like having our 'wrong choices' pointed out because we are prideful people. The more we resist his 'interference' in our lives, the longer we will deal with issues that only get us into other issues! It is God who actually helps us do what we don't want to do! Have you ever been in a place where you know the very thing you are about to do...