Think about holding your breath under water. You start out thinking you’ve got it under control, no problem. Then you start to feel the pressure. The air’s beginning to run out and you’re trying to just hold on a little bit longer. Finally, you burst through the water, gasping for air and breathing in the fresh start.
When we turn our lives over to God, we get a wild and free life that is far grander than the one we lived before. It may not seem that way to us at first, but now we live with hope. We live with purpose. God welcomes us into his family. This family is made up of men and women just like us, all sinners who are saved by God’s grace. All of us made new in him (2 Corinthians 5:17). A deep breath of fresh air. A clean slate. A rescued new start.
Romans 8 reminds us that living with God— living in his Spirit—means resting in life and peace (v 6). It does not mean we won’t be faced with hard days and brokenness, but we live with an enteral perspective now. We live surrendered to God, trusting that he’s working all things together for our good and his glory. What a relief. What a gift.
How does that change the way you look at what you’re faced with today? It doesn’t mean that discipling your kids isn’t hard or fighting cancer isn’t scary. But you’re made in God’s image. You’re free. You’re chosen. You’re adopted. You’re forgiven. You’re made new. You’re loved. Doesn’t it change the way you see your world?
Happiness! I feel relief, like I breathe. I am not waiting for the next show to drop. Whatever life brings, I can get through it, because I am a child of the living God.
Numerous times in the Bible, God tells His people not to be discouraged, I will not forsake you. He is going before us. That gives me peace.
Watching my mother suffer a little in her lady days was hard. This woman who truly was all our strength, our,go-to woman filled with love and wisdom was made weak in her sickness, but was such a fighter. She knew Jesus as her Savior, and was ready to take that final walk with Christ home, but we weren’t. But God, gave me that peace, that the world does not understand, that confidence that comes from the Holy Spirit, and it comforts me still today.
But the important thing was during her memorial service, my niece asked me, saying Aunt Liz you are handling this better then everyone. I was able to open my Bible and talk with her, planting that seed that I pray daily is being watered.
God miraculously changed me from death to life when I called on Him to save me from sin and I admitted my sin, realizing I was separated and going to hell, he pulled me out of that pit, sat me on His Rock of Salvation. He lives in me and that is my hope!
Wow! Beautifully stated, great transformation. Thank you for sharing your heartfelt experience
Hope- in my deepest core, regardless of how I’m feeling or what mood I’m in, I know my home is in heaven. My time on earth is short and eternity is forever. I know that God patiently waits for me when I am distant from Him. I know He is always at work in both the hard times and the good times. My life is different because in daily trials (arguments with my husband, frustration with kids, fear about finances/job, etc) I am slower to react and quicker to cry out to God in my head or quietly to myself for Him to intervene. And He always does! This has been a work in progress but the peace that comes with surrendering to Him and seeing how a situation can change by letting Him in only makes it that much easier next time.
My life is different because in times of trouble or pain, whatever it may be, I know that I have a comforter. I’m never alone, and that there is hope. The problem/sickness/injury WILL be cured or healed…it just may not be cured or healed on Earth, the problem/situation may be bad but God will be there with me every step of the way. He is my Hope, my Comfort, my Promise.
I used to think of God more in the role of a judge than as my Father. As I learn more about Jesus and spend time with Him in prayer, I see God’s love in action. I see the intimacy He wants with me. I see the dignity He sees in me and others. Because of Jesus, I now know a Father who didn’t give up on me, who loves me as I am, who wants good for me, and who leads me on a path to life. Thank you God for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so we may know you and love you more intimately.