Yesterday a friend suggested that I was too worried about
the situation that is distressing me. She said, “Let it go.” She had the right
idea, yet letting go, at least for me, requires a foundation. On what basis can
I drop the problem?
It can be taken to Jesus, which I was already doing, but
the burden would not leave me. It can be pushed aside by busyness, likely to produce
ulcers. It can be dismissed as unimportant, which would calcify my heart. Nothing
was giving me comfort. Maybe wanting comfort is selfish? Maybe this is a burden
that God wants me to carry so that I will keep praying?
Today’s devotional verses and thoughts give me
encouragement and something that lightens the load . . .
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Romans 8:35–37)
Chambers says that while nothing can wedge in
between the love of God and His people, things can mess up my fellowship with
God. When that happens, it is almost always related to the original lie of the
serpent in Eden. In essence, he suggested to Eve that God didn’t love her and
didn’t want the best for her.
That lie hangs itself on my burden. The enemy suggests to
me that God’s love isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. He isn’t interested
in His people, His plans are more important than our feelings . . . yada,
yada. Thinking this way puts dread in my heart for the future of someone I
love — when I should have hopeful expectation.
For that person, for myself, the foundation of our faith is
the unmerited love of God exhibited on the Cross of Calvary. We don’t deserve
it and we cannot earn it. Love is the very nature of God. He is the reason we
are more than conquerors, no matter what comes at us. The fact is that we would
not even realize that we are victorious against these things unless they made
their overthrow attempts. It is in facing overwhelming odds that we find out
the power of God’s love to give us victory.
. . . The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5–7)
How can there be peace, even joy, in difficult distresses?
Successful risk-takers know it. Those who jump on a wild horse and ride the
beast know the joy of it. Surfers who ride that gigantic wave through to the
end also know the joy of it. It makes sense that staying in a safe place means
not knowing or realizing that the peace of God is possible even in the midst of
tribulation, distress, persecution, and danger.
Chambers says we should not fight to remove our distresses
— because in Christ we are more than conquerors in those distresses, not
in spite of them, but in the middle, in the experience. I do not know the joy
of the Lord in spite of burdens, but because of them. Paul said, “. . .
In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.” (2 Corinthians 7:4)
After saying, “Let it go,” my friend said that the same
God that loves me and wants what is best for me also loves the person I’m
concerned about and wants the best for that person. In essence, she was saying
that I need to pray, but more than prayer, I also must remember that God loves
us. His love cannot be altered or removed in the experiences of life,
monotonous or horrendous, ease or trials, nor when the devil says otherwise.
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