03/23/2021
Depend on His Power
Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
─ Romans 5:1-5 ESV
Depend on His Power
Believers and those who have not yet accepted Christ both struggle with how and why bad things happen to good people. It’s heartbreaking when loss occurs – whether it’s loss of life, health, financial ruin, emotional chaos – and the list goes on.
We live in a fallen world, and the enemy of your soul uses every challenge, every obstacle, every situation that could possibly grieve you to inflict pain with a desire to see you curse God and die spiritually (John 10:10, Job 2:9).
In our verses today, Paul shares two sides of the coin of Christianity – eternal hope of a life in Christ for all of eternity versus the reality that in this life you will always have challenges. You experience the peace of God, knowing you are right with God, while striving to overcome the hurdles of this fallen world that God uses to help you grow.
So when you are tempted to become discouraged about the hard places in life, you can depend on the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. Whatever you face, you will not face it alone. And through Christ you are made more than a conqueror, no matter what the situation looks like.
Today’s One Thing
If you’re struggling to make it through a hard time, ask God to bring people into your life who have walked a similar path successfully that can help you, encourage you, pray for you. And if you’ve walked through something difficult, share our experience with others as He leads you to bring hope, inspire faith, and love to encourage others.
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