Romans 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Let me remind you again that Paul is addressing Jews in Rome. We who are on the outside looking in will not have the same perspective as those in the Jewish community. In many ways our trying to understand this brings about some serious error as to one of Paul’s primary messages. Predestination is foreknowledge. God knew all that would happen in all of history before He began the work of creation.

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

This is such an enormous issue that rendering a proper understanding is impossible from a viewpoint fixed in time. What amazes me more than the concept is the fact that God, knowing all the evil released into the world, all the hate, all the torture, murder, lusts, and evil mankind performs on mankind, He chose to set it all in motion anyway. This is how precious our love is to our God. He put up with all this to obtain just a remnant that would love Him.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

I see much suffering in this world which is unbearably ugly. Then I must accept that God sees His Glory, Jesus Christ in us, to be so great that all the ugliness is nothing. I cannot in my humanity imagine something that wonderful. Yet God saw it before He created anything of this world.

Your take away here should be this; you were worth it.

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Just a few verses earlier Paul declares we wait patiently but in verse 29 we are called to be predestinated “to be conformed to the image of his Son”. The sound of that seems to outshout the patience in us and for some strange reason we lose focus that it is God Himself that does the work. Verse 30 makes it clear that God does what is necessary to perform His promise towards us.

I sat through the teachings of enough name it and claim it advocates to understand the inherent dangers of trying to help God where our help only hinders the process. The story is as old as the Garden itself. Eve was told all she had to do to be like God was to know good and evil. Wrong. She walked with God daily and that was all that was needed.

Pay close attention to your personal relationship with God and God will do what God does best. He keeps His word and performs the promises He makes. We already read as much in Romans 4:24 by Abram’s example. “And being fully persuaded that, what God had promised, God was able also to perform.”

There is something about the impatience of humanity that cries out “I want what I want and I want it now.” It may be part of our survival instincts but when it comes to what God does for us and in us, it interferes with real progress.

It is only made worse by leaving our relationship with our heavenly Father in the hands of others. It is our relationship and we need to attend to it ourselves.