"ALL THINGS!"

Romans 8:26-28             (English Standard Version)
"26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO PRAY FOR as we ought, but the Spirit HIMSELF intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And HE who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the WILL OF GOD.
28 And we know that for those who love GOD "ALL THINGS" work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.


The devotional from Dr. Charles Stanley this morning made me stop in my tracks.  He writes "SINCE THE LORD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN, the wisest reaction is to ANTICIPATE the GOOD  HE can do and AWAIT HIS TIMING."  The phrase "SINCE THE LORD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN" impresses upon me that GOD is in control in "ALL THINGS", and I need to AWAIT HIS TIMING and not fear the outcome!

GOD may need me to go through a flood, or a fire (Isaiah 43:2), or HE may need me to face a Red Sea (EXODUS 14), but either HE will deliver me through the obstacle or HE will deliver me home. The plan GOD has cannot be improved upon by my worry and fretting. GOD is the ONE who "spoke" the worlds into existence!  HE is certainly capable of guiding me through "ALL THINGS" that come up in my life.

HIS Spirit, commonly referred to as the HOLY SPIRIT, prays for me even when I don't know how to pray for myself!  The HOLY SPIRIT intercedes (or to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition) for in my weaknesses!  When I am not as strong as I need to be, the HOLY SPIRIT acts as kind of a circuit breaker and intercedes on my behalf with "groanings" too deep for words!  GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT, intervenes to GOD THE FATHER on my behalf for my good.

It is comforting to know that in "ALL THINGS" the triune GODHEAD is watching over me.  "SINCE THE LORD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN", there may be a valley, or there may be a mountaintop, in my future!  No matter where I find myself, I have the assurance that because I love HIM, and I AWAIT HIS TIMING, in "ALL THINGS" HE is working together for good!