Groaning for the Lord's Return

GROANING FOR THE LORD'S RETURN

Beloved of the Lord: Are you groaning for the Lord to come? In Romans 8, verses 19 to 27, we have revealed three separate groans and their deliverance by the coming of the lord. Let us meditate on the facts presented by the apostle Paul; 1 - ALL CREATION GROANS FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD – Read verses 19 to 22. The literal creation, animal, vegetable, mineral etc. was made subject to God’s curse not by its own will, but on account of MAN who brought it upon the creation. MAN was set by God over the lower creation (Gen. 1:26) and when he fell creation shared in the ruin. Ask yourself WHY such unanswerable problems facing our creation today? The blame for it all is MAN AND HIS SIN! Creation cannot know liberty and deliverance through the Gospel as God's children do. It must wait until we axe glorified (Rom. 8.21). For it ALL CREATION waits and groans! At the appearing of Christ it will be proved that creation was made dependent upon the sons of God being glorified and the hope of emancipation is not in vain. MAN has made creation suffer, but deliverance will come at the Lord's return. Read of the great change in Isaiah 11:6-9. Certainly creation groans for HIS coming! 2 - THE BELIEVER GROANS FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD – Read verses 23-25. Note that "the whole creation" (v. 22) is sharply distinguished from ourselves in verse 23. The groaning of the creation may be unintelligent, but our groaning is intelligent for we have much more to groan over through our faith in the purposes of God and that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Our groaning is not to be unintelligent, neither is it to be because of our personal suffering, though this is sometimes true of us. The believer's groaning should be in fellowship with Christ, over the abounding evils, sorrows, sin and its terrible fruit, coupled with yearning for human need of salvation and the desire to know God’s truth. See the example of Christ in John 11 when "Jesus groaned WITHIN HIMSELF" at the grave of Lazarus. Why should HE groan, knowing He would raise Lazarus from the dead? His great compassionate heart felt the whole burden of sin's bondage upon the whole human family'. He knew the great price He would pay for the redemption of ALL CREATION! Note the words – "we OURSELVES groan within ourselves." Are we groaning like HIM? Sin with its slavery over men is strong! Then also, when we see children of God suffer; many willfully straying from the truth; some openly walking in paths of sin; others in bitterness and strife; envy and the flesh being shown, DO WE GROAN? When the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ is disgraced, do we know how to groan within ourselves? We have need to be groaning today for the coming of our Lord. All these things should create a yearning and longing for the coming of the Lord when we shall have THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY! At the end of all physical and mental sufferings what a joy to us when we have the new body of glory! All moral and doctrinal departure will be over for ever. May the Lord enable us to seriously and Scripturally groan for His coming'. 3 - THE INDWELLING SPIRIT GROANS AS HE INTERCEDES FOR US – verse 26. The Apostle Paul is here recognizing that while we endure suffering in hope, we have the privilege of praying in the Spirit. Too much praying is done in the flesh by us. God is indicating that the most spiritual prayer is a wordless groan – that comes from the heart. "Sighs too deep for words" is one translation. Literally meaning – "through our inarticulate groans the Spirit Himself is pleading for us". God knows the meaning of the Spirit's groans and interprets the wordless inspiration of the heart, "because the Spirit maketh intercession for the saints according to God" – when the groans proceed from our hearts. Are we groaning like this? How shallow our prayers are and what depths we need to experience when all the heart can do is to groan! Groaning for what? THE COMING OF THE LORD! "Even so, come, precious Lord Jesus; Creation waits redemption to see; Caught up in clouds, Soon we shall meet Thee, O blessed assurance, Forever with THEE!" - John Bramhall