When you are struggling in the midst of suffering Paul wants you to know that God is faithful. Paul writes, “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 groaning 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.”

We are sustained with hope because the Spirit helps us in our weakness. This echoes previous comments of Paul in that we often rely on ourselves. Here, we are reminded that the Spirit “helps” us. This means that we must pray in order to give the Spirit something to interpret. The Spirit is there to help us in our weakness, not in our absence. The word “helps” is only used one other time in the New Testament. The word occurs in Luke 10:40 when Martha beckons Jesus to have Mary come “help” her. The idea in both contexts is one of very practical “help” in time of need. In this context, our time of need is when we find ourselves in the midst of suffering and “do not know how to pray as we should.” This suffering is called “weakness”, which is used to describe physical, emotional, or spiritual disability.

You may be in a condition of weakness. Maybe you haven’t been able to find a job and you are depressed and discouraged. Maybe you just broke up with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you feel empty and lonely. Maybe you recently lost a loved one and there is a sense of void in your life. Perhaps you are in moral weakness, a sin that is destroying you. Maybe you are addicted to pornography, or food, or money. These obstacles can make prayer a struggle, but the Spirit assists you in your weakness. Again, don’t use your “weakness” as an excuse not to pray. Don’t assume that the Spirit will do all the work for you; remember He is “the Helper.”

We often forget that one of the purposes of suffering is to draw you to God. If God didn’t allow you to suffer, you would never pray . . . at least not with a sense of desperation. God brings suffering into your life because He loves you and wants you to draw close to Him. So, in the midst of suffering don’t run from God; run towards Him! Suffering, strange as it may sound, is your friend and may be the best thing that could ever happen to you.

Finally, the Spirit only intercedes for us “according to the will of God”. This means that He takes what is of God’s will from our prayers and re-translates our inner thoughts to the Father. Since this is how the Spirit works, we had better make sure that we know God’s will and meditate upon it. God’s will is not some mysterious concept—it is revealed in the Bible.

That means we need to be in God’s Word so that we may know God’s will. We need to make a commitment to familiarize ourselves with the Bible and use Scripture in your prayers. If you really want to see some changes take place in your life, link up with God’s Word and the Holy Spirit in prayer. Jude tells us that the way to build ourselves up in the faith is by praying in the Holy Spirit. This means we need to develop a lifestyle of prayer so that we will have the stamina to pray when we encounter suffering.

In 8:28, Paul pens one of the most often quoted verses in Scripture: “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.” This is often taken out of context to mean everything will turn out fine for us. But to take this verse by itself would be an error. Verse 28 is in the context of the Holy Spirit’s intercession. So what does this mean?

It means that the people whom God is working all things together for good are the same people whom the Holy Spirit is interceding for according to God’s will. Also, it is important to notice that the “all things” spoken here is a reference to the present suffering he mentions earlier. Nothing happens outside of God’s plan or without His permission and will. The “good” is that all things work together to bring each Christian into conformity to Christ, to bring each Christian to glory. Notice as well, Paul does not speak of the purposes of God but of “His purpose”. Why is this? I believe the answer is that there is only one all-encompassing purpose. That purpose is not to save people or to bless those who believe in Him; rather, the purpose is to manifest His own glory, not only to humanity, but to the heavenly hosts as well.

Do you like eating cake? If you are like most people, probably so! Do you eat the various individual ingredients of the cake? I hope not! Some of the ingredients may not be too bad by themselves. But other ingredients, such as baking soda, baking powder, or flour are not very palatable. But, when they are mixed together and baked in an oven the final product is delicious.

Similarly, God can be trusted to take even the bitter experiences of life and blend them together and make them work together for good. God knows which ingredients are needed and He knows how to mix them to produce the desired result. The end result is something very tasty! I was reading the testimony of a man named Alan Francis. His 12-year-old daughter, Mikaela, was just diagnosed with one of the worst forms of leukemia. They are going to be spending seven months at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. Yet, he calls this suffering “a win-win situation.” When I asked him to clarify this statement Alan declared: “If we suffer well, we grow to be more Christ-like in this life. Moreover, in eternity there is a weight of glory awaiting us.” What a perspective! If you are a believer who is suffering well, your future is going to blow you away. It’s going to be even better than you think!

Paul continues this section with what has been called “the golden chain.” In 8:29-30 he describes God’s greatest works on our behalf. Paul writes, “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.” Before I break down these verses, several observations are worth noting: Firstly, God is the subject of all of the above five verbs. That means He does all the acting. Secondly, we are the objects; we do all the receiving. Thirdly, the first two links in this chain begin in eternity past; the third is on earth, and the last two end in heaven. Fourthly, this chain is about the same people. And the final thing, which is key, is that every one of these five verbs is in the past tense. Every thing is seen as something God has already done. God writes the future as if it were history. Looked at from His point of view, we are already in heaven. What God begins, He finishes!

We live in a world full of uncertainty and instability. For many, it would be easy just to give up. But God gives us the gift of assurance through His Word, the actions of His Son and the presence of His Spirit in our lives. As Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.” God started it and He will finish it. That is His promise!