Romans 8:26-30 By walking in the Spirit, we emerge from the wilderness, being transformed from glory to glory
Romans 8:26-30
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Background
God has called us to be His sons and to reign with Him. Accordingly, He has predestined the timing of our calling. Following this, He introduces a wilderness phase, where He regenerates us—justifies us—by shaping us into His righteous likeness. And when the appointed time arrives, He will exalt us to reign with Him in glory.
Throughout this journey of calling, justification, and glorification, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf and strengthens us in our weaknesses. The wilderness experience is therefore essential to our ultimate glorification. It is in the wilderness that we come to know God intimately, learning to trust and obey Him fully.
Today’s devotion teaches us: By walking in the Spirit, we emerge from the wilderness, being transformed from glory to glory.
Observation
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness
The intercession of the Spirit equips and strengthens us for the journey that God has predestined. These “groanings” facilitate the inflow of divine grace, regenerating our identity, desires, convictions, and courage. As human beings, we cannot fully comprehend how we will be transformed or prepared for the challenges ahead. We do not know what the future holds, we are not fully aware of ourselves or our circumstances, and we cannot transcend our fleshly weaknesses on our own. Yet the Spirit is able to regenerate and shape us, guiding us toward the fulfillment of God’s purposes.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.
For the one who loves God, He causes all things to work together so that the believer may relinquish fleshly instincts and be conformed to the image of Christ. “All things” encompass the predestination of his journey and circumstances according to God’s divine purpose and calling. God also provides both earthly and heavenly resources, including mentors, guidance, and angelic assistance.
Through this process, the believer grows in Christ-likeness and is prepared to reign with Him over creation. Favorable circumstances serve to exalt and advance the believer, while unfavorable circumstances or trials—which often precede blessings—serve to test faith, refine character, and strengthen resolve. Therefore, for one who loves God, all circumstances, whether favorable or adverse, work together to sanctify and glorify him.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son
The calling of the believer is to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ and to participate in His works. The word “foreknew” (Greek pro-ginosko, pro meaning “before” and ginosko meaning “to know”) signifies complete knowledge and understanding of all things, including a person’s heart and potential actions. Hebrews 4:13 states:
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Because God possesses foreknowledge, He knows in advance whether a person will obey or reject His directives. For those whom He foreknew—those who will love and obey Him—He predestines the circumstances surrounding their lives to bring about the best outcome. The term “predestine” means to decide or determine beforehand.
It is crucial to understand that God does not predetermine whether a person will repent or rebel; that decision rests entirely with the individual. Rather, God predestines the circumstances and events around us so that we may experience His goodness, avoid temptations beyond our endurance, and be shaped into His likeness. He orchestrates all things to fulfill His purposes without overriding our moral freedom, for He has given us the sovereign right to choose between good and evil.
Therefore, God, fully aware of our motives, perseverance, strengths, and weaknesses, predestines the circumstances and life events in our path. In this way, all things work together to accomplish His purposes and to bring us into conformity with Christ.
And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
God’s foreknowledge results in predestination, which encompasses the processes of calling, justification, and eventual glorification.
Predestination begins with God’s calling. When He calls us, He chooses us and reveals our eternal identity and purpose—the reason for which we were created. As the apostle Paul declares:
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. – Ephesians 1:4-6
The process of predestination is most clearly exemplified in the life of God’s Beloved, Jesus Christ, whose calling, obedience, and ultimate glorification reveal the pattern and purpose of God’s plan for all who belong to Him.
He calls
When Jesus was born, His human memory was limited so that He could live according to the motives of His heart. In time, the Father began to call Him, revealing His divine purpose from a young age (see Luke 2:49). Jesus embarked on a journey of discovery, growing into His calling through experience and obedience (see Luke 2:40, 46).
In the same way, God calls each of us through divinely appointed events and relationships, guiding us to recognize Him and our eternal purpose. Through these encounters, we become aware of our calling and begin the process of growing into it.
He justifies
Even at a very young age, Jesus was aware that He is the Son of God, already considered righteous by the Father. To be justified is to be made righteous. The term “righteous” is an adjective used to describe God Himself (see Psalm 119:137, 142; Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 45:21). Simply put, when God makes a person righteous, He adopts them as His child and begins the process of regenerating them into His likeness, making them divine.
Under what circumstances does God call us His sons of righteousness? It is when we acknowledge Him as our Father and surrender fully to His authority over our lives. It is important to understand that justification is a process. For most, a significant portion of this transformation occurs in the wilderness of trials and tribulations. As we live in obedience amid these challenges, our faith grows, and we progressively align with God’s righteousness.
He glorifies
When God saw that Jesus’ faithfulness and works were worthy of the highest glory, He glorified Him by exalting Him to the supreme station of creation (see Philippians 2:6-11). In the same way, when Christ returns as Judge, He will evaluate our lives and exalt us to a level of glory that corresponds to the measure of our faithfulness and obedience.
Truth
By walking in the Spirit, we emerge from the wilderness, being transformed from glory to glory.
The phases of life
Indeed, these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Notice, the phases of calling and justification precedes glorification. And all three phases are predestined by God. Calling is a phase where God makes known our divine roles and equips us for it. Justification is a phase where God regenerates our hearts by putting us through the wilderness. It is through the wilderness of tribulations that God justifies and transforms His children into His likeness. Glorification is a phase where we find ourselves in our element to do great exploits.
Put in a nutshell, in the calling phase, God equips our mind, filling us with knowledge. In the justification phase, God regenerates our hearts, filling us with love and faith. In the glorification phase, God exalts us with divine authority to do mighty works and reign with Him.
The harshness of the wilderness
However, of the three phases, the harshest and most consequential of all is the wilderness. In the wilderness, one feels dry, alone, lost, and helpless. It is also a place where God appears as silent and absent. History tells us that many did not make it through the wilderness. Of those who followed Moses out of Egypt, only a fraction made it to the promised land. For their bodies were buried in the wilderness because they grumbled against God (see Numbers 14:26-35). Those who made it to the promised land lived through 40 wasted years. For what was to be a two-week journey stretched a span of 40 years. Why? Because the Israelites did not redeem the time by walking in step with the Spirit. Similarly, many today will miss out on the promised land. And many more will remain in the wilderness longer than they should because they either could not hear God, or would not follow Him wholeheartedly.
How can we emerge from the wilderness in good time?
Firstly, we must understand the divine purpose of the wilderness and embrace it without grumbling. God led the Israelites into the wilderness to humble them so that they might learn to trust God and obey His directives. Moses said to them,
Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. – Deuteronomy 8:2
Therefore, the purpose of the wilderness is to expose us to our natural identity, our fleshly desires, our self-dependence and wilfulness. The wilderness may bring a loss of health or wealth and excesses that clutter our soul. It is here that God remakes our identity, sanctifies our desires and reconfigures our relationships by removing unwholesome friends. God uses the wilderness to break us so that we may be re-established in God’s likeness.
Secondly, we must learn to submit to the Father’s discipline as His children. We must learn to listen and obey His directives moment by moment. At the same time to trust in His provision and protection. We must not grumble but trust God and obey His directives one day at a time. Here, we develop sensitivity towards God and the lifestyle of communion with God. In fact, it was in the wilderness of Midian that Moses met God and spoke with Him face to face. Now, Moses brought the Israelites into the wilderness so that they might know God. Moses said to them,
He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. – Deuteronomy 8:3-6
Here, God strips us of unhealthy habits and lifestyle. Because access to the things that occupy us are blocked off, we become restless. And God sets us back to the basics of what makes life abundant. Righteousness, peace and joy return to become the mainstay of our soul.
Thirdly, we must keep reminding ourselves of God’s promises of glory. Moses said,
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. – Deuteronomy 8:7-10
By reminding ourselves of God’s promises of glory, we facilitate the intercession of the Spirit and abound in His power. Therefore, we must confess the prophecy of abundance, peace and righteousness as often as we can. The apostle Paul said,
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
The world and its busyness obscure the true meaning of life and numb us to the pain of our soul. Despite the world becoming more connected through technology, people are in fact becoming more lonely, lost and helpless. But it is in the wilderness that we find God as our Companion and are no longer lonely. And we are no longer helpless, for God has become my Helper. And we no longer feel lost, for God is my hope and salvation.
Application
In all the phases of life, there is always an element of wilderness in it. Hence, it is normal that we feel lonely, lost and helpless. Therefore, we must learn from the prophet Daniel to slow down and retreat into the wilderness three times a day. It is there in the bare stillness where we find our comfort, direction, peace and hope.
Dear Lord, I thank you for predestining my calling, justification and glorification. I thank you for the wilderness in my life. Make me into the person that you can use for your salvation plans. Sensitise my eyes and ears so that I may see and hear you more clearly. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.