Last time Paul encouraged us that waiting for our adoption as children of God is a marvelous hope unseen that we wait for with steady patience without groaning. Today he ties this to overcoming our weaknesses:
“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. And he who searches hearts knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom 8:26-27).
Remember that when we first believed that Jesus is the Son of God, the first fruit of our being grafted into the vine that is Jesus was receiving the Spirit in our hearts. For some the fruit has ripened quickly into sweet faith in action. But for others it takes a bit longer to ripen, but ripen it does. But grab this now and claim it as the most precious thing you have ever possessed: how long it takes for the Spirit to ripen in you does not matter!
Why?
Because from the very moment of belief, the Spirit has been interceding for you before the throne of God whether you realized it or not with groanings too deep for words. Your every need is in the mind of the Spirit always, and his mind is a hot-line to the will of God.
So when we stand at the fork in the road with the choices of disunity from God or perfect unity with God, and we stand there quite often, it seems, the Spirit is interceding for us even before we pray because we are part of the vine. We are the children of God. All we need to do is to surrender once again through sincere repentance.
This week I have been struggling – and groaning mightily – with filling out a form for tax exemption for the brand new Streamside Unity LLC organization I have established. This form is notorious for its difficulty in legal-speak. I was given the wrong form and had to start all over after about forty hours of work. And then the government’s on-line form froze on me and I lost part of the file. It was gut-wrenching, and I went to bed two nights ago feeling crushed.
But the Spirit’s groanings on my behalf were already in God’s hands as I prayed passionately: “Lord, I pray that this is only a knockdown and not a total knockout!” Yesterday morning, I awoke very aware of the Spirit’s presence. My task was to call the government number and get help and I started dreading the inevitable long wait on a call to the IRS. I said out loud, “Can you imagine calling a government line and getting an answer on the first ring without waiting in line forever?”
The Spirit had already interceded: that is exactly what happened. I got a living person on the first ring who was able to help me in less than five minutes, and I completed the form easily despite one technicality that even she admitted was nearly impossible to understand!
Mark this and hold it to your heart every hour of every day:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn of many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom 8:28-30).
Whether it is tax forms or pandemics, the Spirit is interceding for you even as we speak. In fact, if you call him, he not only answers on the first ring, but he also knows the solution before you even call. The timing, of course, requires great faith, but yields great joy in the waiting.
Send us a comment about when you have experienced this miracle!