Romans 8 - "Confidence"

Pastor Roland shared this quote from John Wesley in our zoom gathering last night. “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing!”  Sometimes we feel like we cannot continue to put one foot in front of the other to carry on. There are circumstances that can be so overwhelming we feel crushed. There are so many responsibilities upon the shoulders of a pastor. No matter how hard we try we feel like a failure. Pastor Roland shared in our discussion when he becomes weary in ministry he does a check on his spiritual life and gets refocused on God. I thought about how when we get our focus off of God and onto the difficulties of life we become discouraged. The same can be said about ministry. Paul speaks in Romans 8 about living in the Spirit to overcome sufferings on this earth. The last few verses of this chapter are of great encouragement to me. In verse thirty-seven we are told we are conquerors. Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection are the reason each one of us are here today. He is not just the Reason for the Season but for every day of the year. Verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine read in The Passion Translation:

So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!

Life's difficulties are just that. Difficulties. They are no surprise to God. He can and will use them to strengthen our faith and stretch our trust in Him. He will use people and circumstances to open our eyes to what He desires of us as we allow Him. The 'secret' to being successful for Him is to stay focused on Him. When I look back at the times I failed Him, I realize it was because of not having my focus on Him. Shame on me. Praise His Holy Name for His love that accepts me back into His arms when I repent. I love the words God's passionate love from these verses. That is exactly what I experience every day of my life. I am so blessed to be a conqueror for Him. I am reminded this morning of the song "Confidence" as I think about the 'giants' in my life...

So give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den
Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness
Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense
So I can face my giants with confidence

Dear Jesus, Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead today! Thank You for Pastor Rusty leading our book study! Thank You for the walk Doug and I took yesterday morning as we were apart a lot of the day! Cleanse me so You can fill me so people will see/hear You through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. I pray Your confidence over many facing giants in life. My sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Doug's sister Jackie; Cait; Rhonda; Mike; Norma Hall; Jack and Paula; Beth; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; Brooklyn; April; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sherry; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many dealing with ‘c’ and/or going through treatments…Chrissy’s cousin; Mike's sister; Shirley Jones; Little Judson; a young girl in our community; Audrey; Mr Mullet; Marybeth's friend; David; Dave and Carol with his treatments; Dan; and Ray. I pray for: the Long family; Becky; Baby Sabre and her family; Debbie and her family; Mr. John; Darrell; Mallory and Baby Zion; Sandra; and Russ. Thank You for continued healing for Pastor Tommy and Pam! Thank You for being My Conqueror! Amen.