During pre-service prayer at the church I attend in the heart of Los Angeles, the theme last Sunday was rest. One of the members present shared a well-known verse:

Romans 8:28-29 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son

It occurred to me that, although this “sovereignty verse” is often understood to mean our justification* is secure, it means much more than this: that our purpose, calling and destiny are secure as well. God is telling us he has predestined the perfection of our faith and with it our destiny as well.

I know this passage and others like it have been used by some to suggest our part in life is nothing at all (since presumably everything has been predetermined**), but this is not, in my humble opinion, what this passage is saying. To assume so is to mistake God’s sovereignty for God violating our free will, an idea that is neither suggested nor taught anywhere in Scripture. But what it is saying is that the fulfillment of God’s plans and purposes are as readily available to us as salvation itself. In every moment, God has everything we need to fulfill the amazing life God has for us. We do not need to fear we are missing out.

Which on this particular morning was meaningful to me. I suddenly felt as if I had spent my entire life frantically navigating life as though I would miss out, first by failing to be acceptable to God, then by failing to “position” myself to be blessed by him. It was clear in that moment both of these attitudes were the very thing Jesus had come to deliver me from. That the image he desired to conform me to was that of a son who knew in each moment his Father had everything he needed to share in the fullness of the abundant life He had dreamed for him. And in that stillness I found peace flowing like a river.

*That is, our righteousness before God on account of what Jesus has done for us at the Cross
**A traditionally Calvinist perspective