Day 204

2 Chronicles 8:11–10:19; Romans 8:9-25; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 19:26

IN TODAY’S READING from Romans, we reached a point from which we can view the implications of Paul’s argument thus far —and gaze into the future with great hope: “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you” (Romans 8:11).

I invite you to sit with that for a moment. Slow down. Allow it to turn over in your mind until it becomes less of a theological concept and begins penetrating your heart. Say it out loud: The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in me.

If you embraced this reality, what would change? It would be difficult to feel abandoned by God ever again, wouldn’t it? How could you be, if His Spirit is within you? We could go on and on about the ways this reality touches and changes everything. So why don’t we live into it? Because we choose not to. We choose our own voice (or that of another) over the voice of the Spirit within us. We will obey that which we submit ourselves to, but we have a choice in the matter. Paul said it like this:

You have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Paul told us that God didn’t accept us as his fearful slaves, but as children who could call him “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). Abba is an Aramaic term of endearment much like Daddy or Papa is in English. The implications are humbling. Paul was describing a father-child bond in which the child has full access within a loving, nurturing relationship. To exhale into the reality of a nurturing Father whose immortal Spirit is within us is beyond good news. But Paul told us there is more:

Since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

Essentially Paul was telling us that our struggles are normal, and suffering is a part of life (as it was for Jesus). But the larger story is that God’s Holy Spirit is within us, and He will care for us as a loving Father in and through it all. We are in the process of inheriting God’s glorious freedom from the power of sin and death.

This Good News is hard to encapsulate or contain within such few words. It could fill all the pages of this book and would only be scratching the surface. Turn it over and over in your mind and heart as you enter this day. Understand that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is also sustaining your life. Allow yourself to be fathered by God today. You’re not alone, and you will never be abandoned. You may be facing difficulties, but they are normal —and temporary. The longing for restoration that you feel in the depths of your soul is pulling you forward, like all of creation, toward that very thing. Everything is going to be okay. You’re going to make it. And the joy that awaits you is beyond any words in any book.

MEDITATION:

God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is a solid rock?