11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
nevertheless, afterward
After divine disciple works on the soul of the believer, it will produce a divine harvest. The latter part of verse 11 stands in contrast to the first part. Finite viewpoint does not understand the ultimate result God has in mind for the believer.
When it comes to a fuller understanding of what God is doing with us, we understand it “afterward.” We cannot grasp it during the process. Often, we do not wait for the “afterward” because we want an answer immediately. We cannot trust what God is doing because we want an immediate answer. This lack of trust in God’s sovereignty produces a hardening of heart about God’s plan for us.
PRINCIPLE:
We understand the ultimate plan of God in our lives by faith.
APPLICATION:
“Afterward” indicates the destination. There is a direction to God’s putting the believer through various trials. We will learn from Romans 8:28 that “all things work together for good” where we understand the principle of what God is doing. We may not grasp the full significance or the particulars of what we are going through, but we see God’s hand in it all. God knows the end in view, but often we do not.
We may or may not understand the pain, loss, and disappointment in life. There is one thing that we can know—there is an “afterward” in God’s economy. God’s ultimate plan for us is to conform us into the image of His Son (Ro 8:29). He wants to develop our character as close to Jesus as possible.
If you wish an in-depth study of Romans 8:28, go here: https://versebyversecommentary.com/romans/romans-828/ Make sure that you advance through each study of this verse until you finish.
