On this Memorial Day, we thank Jesus for the many men and women who have paid the ultimate price for defending our county with the loss of their lives; and we ask for their families and friends to be supernaturally covered and filled by the Holy Spirit.
Today’s passage about “The Future Glory” fits well with it being Memorial Day. We have all asked the question “why” about trials, sorrow, pain, and death at some point in our lives. In Romans 8, Paul helps us to understand that all of God’s creation, including you and me, have been subjected to God’s curse on sin from the very beginning when Adan and Eve sinned in the garden (Gen 3). Although there is no way that we can deliver ourselves from sins, Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins to be forgiven and the Holy Spirit is our helper in our times of weakness until Jesus returns. When Jesus returns “No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him. And they will see His face, and His Name will be written on their foreheads.” (Rev 22:3-4)
As you and I look forward to Jesus’ return, we know that there will be suffering, “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.” (v. 28) Please take note, that this Truth is “for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” which means this is for believers, and as believers we must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through our times of suffering and do it with God’s grace which covers us. We have to stay fully connected to Jesus to experience His future glory, we must stand firm with Him when times and circumstances get tough, because the enemy is waiting for a time of weakness. Remember what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:11: “Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that way war against your very souls.” Our earthly lives are but a vapor, here today and can vanish tomorrow (James 4:14) so we must stay away from those things of this world that pull us away from Jesus and stand with Him and ready through faith and hopeful for His return and for our Homecoming.
Romans 8:18-30 NLT
The Future Glory
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
26 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. 27 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. 28 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. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the brave men and women who have, are, and will stand to protect our county. Please bless the families and friends who have lost someone in service. May they see Your love and comfort even within their great loss. Help all of us to see how You are moving for our good even in tough times. Keep us rooted in You, growing in our relationship by Your Word, and protect our souls from the enemy of this world. We want to be prepared for Your return. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.