Seeing the Spirit at Work in Suffering

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Groaning with Creation’s Unspoken Longing

Creation’s silent ache mirrors our own restless hearts. Just as the earth strains under brokenness, our spirits wrestle with the tension between what is and what will be. Paul personifies creation’s groaning—not as a literal voice, but as a shared reality of waiting. This collective yearning points to a future where every cracked foundation and withered hope is restored. Our present struggles, like labor pains, signal a coming birth of glory. [57:24]

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”
(Romans 8:22-23, NIV)

Reflection: Where do you sense creation’s “groaning” in your daily life—a wilted garden, a storm’s aftermath? How does this physical brokenness mirror your own unresolved aches?

Day 2: The Spirit’s Wordless Groans in Our Weakness

When pain leaves us speechless, the Holy Spirit translates our chaos into holy petitions. He intercedes not with polished prayers, but with groans deeper than language. This isn’t about mystical ecstasy but raw dependence—the kind a toddler has when falling into a parent’s arms. The Spirit bridges the gap between our frailty and God’s purpose, turning confusion into communion. [01:01:13]

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
(Romans 8:26-27, NIV)

Reflection: What current struggle leaves you wordless before God? How might the Spirit be reshaping those raw emotions into prayers you can’t yet articulate?

Day 3: Suffering’s School of Slowing Down

Grief teaches our hurried souls to sit in the dust. Like a parent kneeling to tend a scraped knee, God uses loss to recalibrate our pace. Slowing isn’t passive resignation—it’s active trust that stillness cultivates eyes to see His Spirit at work. In the quiet, we notice how He rebuilds shattered places with patience we’d otherwise miss. [01:18:22]

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”
(Psalm 46:10, NIV)

Reflection: Where has suffering forced you to slow down? What fruit—patience, empathy, attentiveness—is growing in that unplanned pause?

Day 4: All Things, Even This, For Good

God’s “good” isn’t a shallow silver lining but a forge refining our character. Like a vinedresser pruning tangled branches, He allows painful cuts to shape us into Christ’s likeness. This promise isn’t a platitude for the hurting—it’s a lifeline for those willing to trust the process when the purpose is still hidden. [01:08:17]

“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.”
(Romans 8:28, NIV)

Reflection: What current hardship feels purposeless? How might God be using it to deepen your dependence or soften your heart toward others?

Day 5: New Earth’s Dawn Beyond Today’s Pain

Eternal hope isn’t escapism—it’s the lens that transforms how we endure. Revelation’s vision of a tearless eternity isn’t fantasy but future reality. Every injustice, illness, and fracture will dissolve like frost under morning sun. This coming dawn doesn’t negate today’s pain but infuses it with defiant endurance. [53:09]

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
(Revelation 21:1,4, NIV)

Reflection: What specific ache or injustice makes you long most for the new earth? How does that longing fuel your courage to love boldly today?

Sermon Summary

Paul reminds God’s children that being co-heirs with Christ means sharing in both his suffering and his glory. Present suffering can be deep, dark, and terrible, but it cannot compare with the glory God will reveal when all things are made new. God’s promise does not minimize pain right now. God’s promise gives pain a future that pain cannot destroy.

Creation itself is caught in the fallout of sin. Creation did not choose the frustration, bondage, decay, and brokenness that came when humanity turned from God, yet creation waits eagerly for liberation alongside God’s children. Paul uses creation’s groaning like the pains of childbirth: something real and painful is happening, but joy is coming on the other side. Revelation gives a glimpse of that coming reality: a new heaven and new earth where God dwells among his people, tears are wiped away, and death, mourning, crying, and pain are gone.

The Holy Spirit inside God’s people creates a holy dissatisfaction with the world as it is. The Spirit causes an inward groaning because things are not as they should be, whether suffering comes through personal sin, the sin of others, or life in a broken world. Hope does not mean possessing the finished thing already. Hope means waiting patiently for the redemption of the body and trusting that God has not abandoned his children in the waiting.

The Spirit helps in weakness when words run out. The Spirit intercedes through wordless groans, brings truth to mind, provides encouragement through people, and gives strength for what cannot be handled alone. God does not look down at suffering children and hope they figure it out. God is present, caring, and actively working to pick them back up when the walk with him feels more like a wobble.

Romans 8:28 does not promise that every painful thing is good. God promises to work in all things for the good of those who love him. That good is conformity to the image of Jesus. Suffering can expose unhealthy ways of dealing with grief, remove the need to quickly fix people, deepen empathy, and slow life down enough to notice the Spirit’s fruit. Christ’s suffering at the cross proves that suffering does not remove sonship, co-heirship, or the Spirit’s presence. The call is simple: see the Spirit in the suffering.

Key Takeaways

1. Suffering cannot cancel coming glory. Paul refuses to pretend that present pain is small, easy, or imaginary. God places suffering beside eternal glory, not to shame grieving hearts, but to show that suffering does not get the final word. Hope gives believers somewhere to look when circumstances give them no reason to feel okay. [49:16]
2. Creation groans for God’s renewal. Creation’s decay reveals that brokenness reaches far beyond personal circumstances. The world is not functioning as God originally intended, and that ache points toward the day when heaven comes fully to earth. God’s future includes redeemed bodies, redeemed creation, and his presence dwelling among his people. [57:24]
3. The Spirit meets wordless weakness. The Holy Spirit does not require polished prayers before giving help. The Spirit knows the groans that cannot be explained and intercedes according to God’s will. God’s care often arrives through a remembered verse, a timely person, or strength that did not seem available before. [62:40]
4. God’s good forms Christlike people. Romans 8:28 does not label tragedy good, but it declares that God is still at work inside tragedy. God’s purpose is not merely relief from hard circumstances, but deeper conformity to Jesus. Suffering can become a place where unhealthy patterns are exposed and the fruit of the Spirit grows. [69:30]
5. Slow down and notice the Spirit. Grief and limitation can expose how easily hurried lives miss God’s presence. Slowing down creates space to mourn honestly, receive care, and become more loving, patient, and present with others. The Spirit often works quietly in the places that cannot be fixed quickly.

## [78:00]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:06] - One in Rome and Romans 8
[42:38] - Growing Deeper in God’s Word
[45:28] - Children of God and Co-Heirs
[47:51] - Present Suffering and Future Glory
[49:59] - Creation’s Bondage to Decay
[53:09] - The New Heaven and New Earth
[57:24] - Groaning and Waiting in Hope
[60:59] - The Spirit Helps in Weakness
[64:20] - God Picks Up His Children
[67:42] - God Works Through All Things
[71:34] - See the Spirit in Suffering
[72:25] - Grief, Lament, and God’s Presence
[80:36] - A Question for the Suffering Heart
[82:42] - Communion and Christ’s Suffering

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 8:17–30

17. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” [00:47:51]

18. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” [00:49:16]

19. “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.”

20. “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope”

21. “that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

22. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” [00:57:24]

23. “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”

24. “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?”

25. “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” [01:00:59]

26. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” [01:02:40]

27. “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

28. “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.” [01:07:42]

29. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” [01:09:30]

30. “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Revelation 21:1–4

1. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”

2. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”

3. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’”

4. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” [00:53:09]

Romans 8:28

“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.” [01:07:42]

Romans 8:26

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” [01:00:59]

Observation questions

According to Romans 8:17–18, what two things do God’s children share with Christ, and how are present sufferings placed beside coming glory? [00:47:51]
What words does Paul use to describe creation’s present condition and future hope in verses 19–22?
In Romans 8:23–25, what are believers waiting for, and what does Paul say hope is not?
What are the specific ways the Spirit is described as helping God’s people in Romans 8:26–27? [01:02:40]

Interpretation questions

Paul says that believers are co-heirs with Christ while also sharing in his sufferings. How does this truth challenge the idea that suffering means God has abandoned a believer? [01:07:42]
Creation’s groaning is compared to childbirth pains. How does that picture hold together both the real pain of life now and the confidence that God’s renewal is coming? [00:57:24]
Romans 8:28 says God works in all things for good, while verse 29 explains that the good is being conformed to Christ’s image. How does verse 29 protect believers from saying that every painful event is itself good? [01:09:30]
The Spirit intercedes when believers do not know what to pray. What might it look like for a believer to trust God honestly in a season when words, answers, and strength are limited? [01:04:20]

Application questions

Where is there currently a deep sense that things are not as they should be—through personal sin, someone else’s sin, loss, illness, or life in a broken world? What would it look like to bring that groaning honestly to God rather than pretending it does not hurt? [00:58:08]
When suffering comes, what message is most tempting to believe: “God does not care,” “I am alone,” “I need to fix this immediately,” or something else? How does Romans 8 answer that message? [01:07:19]
Is there a grief, disappointment, or struggle for which words have been hard to find? What small, honest prayer—or even silent time before God—could make room to trust the Spirit’s help this week? [01:00:59]
God’s future does not erase present pain, but it gives pain a future that pain cannot destroy. What part of Revelation 21:1–4 brings the most hope or comfort right now? [00:53:33]
Suffering can expose unhealthy ways of handling sadness, stress, or grief. When life hurts, is there a tendency to distract, stay busy, shut down, withdraw, or try to control everything? What might it mean to grieve, lament, and remain in God’s presence instead? [01:13:48]
People in pain do not always need quick answers or solutions. Is there someone who may need a calm, caring presence this week? What could it look like to sit with them, listen well, pray with them, or simply acknowledge their pain? [01:15:09]
Where might slowing down make it easier to notice the Spirit’s work and make room for love, patience, kindness, and faithfulness in everyday life? [01:18:02]

Sermon Clips

42s

#GodInSuffering

“How do you see God's spirit in the midst of your suffering today? This is a question you can ask him. And my guess, my hunch, is that there's already been a thought or an inclination or a memory that's been brought to your mind of how you can see the spirit working in your suffering. Believe that that is God, the creator of the universe, speaking directly to you. He is. He loves you. You're not alone. He cares about you. He's right there to pick you back up and give you his strength when you are weak and don't even know what to do, how to look for him, how to see him moving. Just ask him.”

38s

#EternalHope

“Like, this plan of salvation for us, even though we have suffering right now, it doesn't stop here on this earth. It will go all the way to perfection when we stand before our maker and savior. And and we have all of our sins there, he says, nope, wipe clean. I only see my son, Jesus. You are just as if you had never sinned. And you're like, well, haven't you seen my life? You don't remember all that and all this stuff I did? Nope. All I see is Jesus. Come with me into paradise. Come with me and experience eternal glory. That's the hope that we have. That's the hope we cling onto.”

44s

#HopeInJesus

“I don't want it to keep going through whatever is what I'm going through. I don't want to keep struggling with whatever it is that I'm struggling with. I want this suffering to end and be over with. And, yeah, what Paul says here is that when we feel that suffering in our spirits, when we feel that that groan inwardly, our first reaction can actually point us to the hope that we have in Jesus. It's not always gonna be like this. That's that's a tough thing to take on. That's a tough reality to to live out daily, to make the choice to not focus on the suffering first and foremost, but to have it point us to the future resurrection and redemption that we have in Jesus.”

25s

#GodIsWorking

“He hasn't forgotten about you just because you are suffering. He hasn't forgotten about you because you're going through something difficult. You haven't lost your sonship or being a daughter of the king because you're suffering. No. God is actively working. He knows that creation's messed up. He knows that we suffer. He knows things aren't as they should be. And he's not just sitting up there and be like, okay. Well, hopefully, they figure it out.”

54s

#SpiritLedSupport

“And the spirit inside of us will bring to light in our mind, maybe it's a Bible verse from God's word that we dwell on, that all of a sudden just pops into our minds. Like, how did that even get there? I don't even remember even talking about that. All of a sudden, now that verse popped to my mind. That's not you because you're so dutiful and you study the word, and I'm doing the five day devotionals every week that the church is now doing. That's the spirit inside of you. There are other times that that god will bring a person into your life to encourage you, to help you out. And it's exactly what you needed. And it's because you're not even realizing this, but, God's spirit is working in you so that you can have what you need to get through the suffering. Not to push it away forever, but that you can manage it, that you can thrive in the midst of it.”

29s

#ChildOfGod

“sonship. We receive being a child of God. Not because of anything good you've done or I've done, but because of our faith in the perfect son, Jesus Christ, and his perfect life, his death, and then his resurrection overcoming the power of sin and shame in our lives, giving us forgiveness for our sins. So not only are we his children, but we are co heirs. We can rule and reign with Christ,”

32s

#StrengthInWeakness

“We're weak. We're limited. We can't get through sufferings on our own. We struggle. We sometimes cause suffering because of our own decisions, other people do it to us, whatever it is. It's as mere of the source. It's hard. And so that's why God's spirit strengthens us, gives us exactly what we need to get through whatever it is that we are going through. In fact, there are times that it says here then in verse 26 that the spirit says,”

28s

#HolySpiritHelps

“But Paul's not talking about that here. He's talking about these wordless groans in regards to the groaning that you and I feel when things aren't right, to the the groaning that creation has because things aren't as they should be. So there are times in our lives when we are going through suffering, and we don't know how to get through it. And what happens is that the Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need.”

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