God’s Will for Us Is Our Sanctification

In the course of our lives there can be many things we do not understand. Situations can arise both at home, in the church, and elsewhere in our surroundings, where our reasoning and feelings cry out: Why are things like this? What’s the point?

Such questions are common to all people, of all ages, of all walks of life; and for countless people this ends in depression, despair, or rebellion and rage, which affects not only their own lives, but also their marriages, family relationships, etc.

But how is this for a disciple? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son . . .” Rom. 8:28-29. I know that! Now, the point is that this is not just theoretical knowledge that gets swept away by all my feelings and thoughts when such situations arise, but that I face these situations with a strong and living faith—because it is precisely now, in these very situations, that God is working in me so that I may be more conformed to the image of Jesus, partake of His virtues, and be transformed!

Moses wanted to see the glory of God. “Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. . . . You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me and live. . . . Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see Me from behind; but My face shall not be seen.’” Ex. 33:18-23. [Norw.] It certainly wasn’t a pleasant feeling for Moses to be pressed hard into the cleft of the rock, but it was the glory of the Lord—which is His goodness—that passed by! However looking from behind—afterward—he could see that the situation was God’s goodness. Is that also true for us in these “difficult” situations? If we are faithful to allow God to mold us and chasten us in these situations, then we will later be able to see that it was God’s goodness that passed by! And while it is happening, we cannot see it, but we know it, as Paul writes in Rom. 8:28.

“The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.” Ps. 118:18-20. For the righteous, the Lord’s chastening is, therefore, a glorious gate that opens up for me! Does that mean I now understand the situation better, or that I’ve found answers to all my questions? Not necessarily! “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Phil. 4:6. It doesn’t go on to say that God will then give you answers to all your questions! No, the answer to prayer lies in the fact that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” V. 7.

“God’s will for us is our sanctification, that we be formed to the glory of His praise. Who can instruct Him, the Almighty Father, how to accomplish the work all our days?” WotL 146. So let us stand firm in faith, confidence, and thanksgiving to God, in all these “incomprehensible” situations! As Elias Aslaksen writes in his song, God’s will is that we are completely sanctified, and that we are formed to the glory of His praise. For this we need to be chastened, molded, and worked on in many ways that our reasoning and feelings do not understand.

It is God’s goodness that works in us and with us! Rom. 2:4.