Challenging Circumstances - Rob Sherwin

In recent weeks some of us have faced very challenging circumstances, knowing pain and grief which can shake us right to our core. When considering these things I found myself reading Romans 8, from which we often pull out encouraging statements such as ‘If Christ is for me, who can be against me!’ or. ‘Who can separate us from the Love of Christ?’ and ‘In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer!’ Which in themselves are astounding promises to trust God for.

There are many great promises in Romans 8; however when you read the chapter from start to finish, it takes you on a journey of facing the reality of our human predicament, hitting the reality of it head on and then leads us along God’s route of redemption and then through to the actual reality of the promises, which I find are only truly realised when we go on the journey itself with Him.

Romans 8 states that there is a human problem which we cannot fix that leads to death; but He Himself has dealt with it in Himself, in His flesh by His Spirit. Which is why it is only IN Him (not our ability) that there is now no condemnation; and it’s only BY His Spirit (The same Spirit that raised him from the dead – overcoming death) now in us who believe, that our bodily death is not the final outcome; for His indestructible Life resides in us who believe.

It goes on. For those who believe, we have received the Spirit of Sonship; of belonging to a father, giving us a sure and solid identity as His children. As a loving Father, He holds nothing back. This leads us to hope and in the face of suffering, hardship and our own weaknesses, He helps us to endure, and we realise that as his children, there is nothing in all creation that can actually separate us from his love. That love will then work all the various challenges of life ultimately for our good, for it is God himself, our Father, who is for us: Therefore who and what can actually prevail against us?

We are not destined to scrape by…but overwhelmingly conquer: In Him, By Him and Through Him. We are not the source… He Is! We just have to align ourselves with Him.

As the Psalmist says: Be still, cease striving and know that I am God… He will have the final say!

When the challenges of life threaten to sweep through and devastate, read, believe and align with the whole of Romans 8, it takes us from our weakness through to his power and onwards to our ultimate victory!