The faithful, covenant love of our Lord will never depart from you if you trust in Christ. You are safe in the grasp of the Almighty, not only through all eternity, but even now. He is actively working all things for good for those who love Him—and that “good,” which is your glorification, cannot be robbed of you no matter what may come.

It is little wonder why a verse like Romans 8:28 is a rally cry to many Christians. We consider Paul’s words, “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,” and apply them through various instances of life to find encouragement. Yet the richness of this verse goes well beyond merely the fact that God does indeed work all things to good for those who love God. The specific framework Paul works within in the context of chapter 8 is set in light of the glories that await us beyond this earth.

In Romans 8:26-27 then, Paul tells us that in the same way this hope for glorification sustains us, the Spirit sustains us, for He knows precisely how to intercede on our behalf before the Father. Where words and utterances fail us in our prayers, the Spirit transforms them into prayers that match the will of God. The very purpose of the Spirit’s intercession is not so we can feel good about His work in doing so, though we should have much joy in this fact. Rather, the Spirit’s work in transforming our failed prayers likewise culminates in us reaching the finish line, where we are ushered into the presence of our Triune Lord for all eternity. In other words, the Spirit’s work of intercession on our behalf is part and parcel to our endurance; we endure not only for the hope of the age to come, but specifically because part of the Spirit’s work is to bring about endurance in us.

What this then means is that our typical band-aid approach of this verse falls drastically short of it’s intended teaching. Rather than being a panacea that speaks to the trial itself somehow becoming something qualitatively good, it is what the trial produces that is good, namely, the salvation of our souls and redemption of our fallen state. Every moment of our life, from start to finish, is designed to sustain us to the very end of the age.