Our life is getting harder. Each day seems more heavy, more difficult, more bleak. “I thought this would get easier,” a fellow fire-loss friend lamented. It was so helpful to hear, as I feel the same.
Maybe it’s the rain. Maybe it’s the cold. Maybe it’s having sicknesses swirling throughout our family members and friends. And not having a thermometer, or medicines, or the comfort of home. The tons of things that could be done, should be done, not sure how it’ll ever get done. It’s hard. Really, really hard. And not getting easier. At all.
Maybe it’s partially the blossoming flowers and trees around town, and seeing in my mind’s eye my own yard bursting into color as daffodils and tulips return, as forsythia bloom in yellow out the kitchen door, as peach, apple, and plum trees are covered in pinks and whites. Spring was always particularly lovely in our yard. I can see it in my mind’s eye. (I never knew what my “mind’s eye” was until now, since I now can pretty much walk up my driveway, into my front gate, around my yard, and through my house in my mind…all of which doesn’t exist anymore, not even the driveway. And I really, really miss it all.)
Maybe it’s going to a tree giveaway and getting trees I have nowhere to plant (yet), no pots or dirt to plant them in until I can plant them potentially in our old yard, and finding out the cherry tree I got that I was SO excited about is a SOUR cherry tree. Sigh.
Maybe it’s trying to look forward but constantly being pulled back. Feeling like everything is way to hard, and not getting easier.
Somehow the words “he who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” popped into my mind this evening as I was trying to go through the motions of doing dinner and cleanup yet again (at least something useful in my head, right?!). I couldn’t remember if it was a Bible verse or not, or where it was exactly. Have I mentioned how horrible my memory has gotten? Thank God for Google! I typed in the words, and voila! Romans 8. Bible. And lots of great stuff!
I realized (once again) that the main thing, what really, really matters has been taken care of, done, and finished. Namely, I am good with God and he is good with me, because of Jesus Christ. Read on.
“There is therefore now (a side note: you have to read previous chapters of Romans to figure out why therefore is there) no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus….and the Spirit of life has set me free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death….If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
So, recapping to myself, I am not condemned, I have been set free from sin and death, the Spirit of God (same as raised Jesus from the dead…wow) dwells in me, and he will give life to me in this body.
I keep reading, “you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
I really like the adopted by God part, where we can say, “Daddy! Father!” to the God of all creation. I like being his child and heir, fellow heir with Christ. This is great! But….not so much the suffering part.
Suffering is icky. I am not AT ALL a fan of it. At all.
But I claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And I want to be like Him. Right? Right.
And He's saying “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. …For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves…groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?…Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
So this suffering is nothing compared to the glory to come. I groan as a follower of Christ, hoping for what I don’t see, but helped in my weakness. I don’t know what to pray. I really, really don’t. But the Spirit of God does. The Spirit prays. For me.
And God will work all things (somehow, no clue how, but somehow) for good, conforming me to the image of Jesus…predestined, called, justified, and glorified.
Romans 8 goes on: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Hm. Drawing a blank. Even in the bleakest of all bleaknesses, if God is for me, does anything that is against me matter? I suppose not.
And now for the verse that started this reading of Romans 8 this evening. Verse 32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
What kind of things are we talking about here? Well, all the things already mentioned as well as the following things: “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
These graciously given “all things” are things like no guilty charge before God, no condemnation, no separation from the love of Christ. And check that out! Jesus is interceding (or praying) for me, and for you, if your faith is in Christ.
In fact, I am more than a conqueror through him who loved me. What’s more than a conqueror? More than a winner, more than a victor. I didn’t know you could be more than that. But he says I can. Like extra, extra A+ special.
And, none of these nasty things can separate me from the love of Christ. Not even death. Not even my hard, bleak, sad, post-house-burning-down-and-everything-feels-stinky life. Nothing. Nothing. Really, really nothing.
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