Imagine – sharing the throne of the universe with the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder God’s goal for me is to be transformed into the image of his son.
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. 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. 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. Romans 8:28-30 (NLT)
One of the basic truths that you need to understand is God's purpose for your life. Once you understand what God is doing in your life, you'll understand why He allows difficult circumstances in your life.
R. A. Torrey called Romans 8:28 "The soft pillow for a heavy heart.”
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Rom. 8:28
Just as a reminder, there are few things that this verse does NOT say. It does not say all things are good. It does not say all things work out the way you want. It does not say all things have a happy ending here on earth.
One of my high school friends lived in the next city over from High Point. His dad was a surgeon. I remember going to Mark’s house (his big house) one day. I walked into the kitchen where we usually sat and talked. His dad was sitting at the kitchen table… and he was doing a needlepoint! That’s right, needlepoint. A distinguished, well-known surgeon was doing needlepoint. (And this was back before needlepoint was popular.) I guess he sensed my inquisitive reaction. Actually I was looking intently at him not knowing what to say. He finally spoke up, “Don, this is how I keep my fingers nimble in order to perform delicate surgical procedures.” Okay, it made sense.
Here is what I remember about the needlepoint. On the top of the needlepoint there was a beautiful picture with bright colors and detailed images. But if you flipped it over there was nothing but jumbled threads and knots.
We are God’s needlepoint… or a better word would be tapestry. A lot of times in God's tapestry we only see the underside -- just a jumble of threads and knots. But God sees the beautiful picture that He's creating in our lives. He's working it all together. He is working it all together for our good. He is making us into the image of His son. We will probably not see the right side of our tapestry until we enter into His kingdom. It is a journey of faith to trust the one doing the stitching.
She (the church) must be trained, educated, and prepared for her queenly role. (Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne, p. 7.)
