30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing Can Separate Us From His Love
I’ve had some moments in my life when the sins I’ve committed flashed before my eyes. In these moments, I’ve felt and seen the filth of sin on me.
Once I found myself feeling this way after a sexual sin. While growing up, purity is something I knew to be very important in the eyes of God. It is His will. When I found myself in sexual sin with a boyfriend, I began to feel filthy. Though I was a believer, I felt awful before the Lord.
Have you ever felt this type of shame, guilt, and condemnation around a particular sin you have committed? Thoughts like “God will never take me back or receive me after I’ve done such a thing like this” may have come to your mind.
This thought pattern is far from the truth in God’s Word.
Romans 8 reveals that God will never turn His back on his children. The gift of salvation justifies you. When you receive Jesus, the gift of justification is yours too.
God the Father has chosen us as believers to be His children. As His children, God has called us, justified us, and glorified us (raising us to a heavenly dignity). He is and will always be for us. The gift of His Son’s life as a sacrifice for our sins proves that.
No man can condemn us because God chose us and Jesus intercedes for us. Realistically, we also cannot condemn ourselves. Romans 8 also mentions that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing includes life, death, angels, demons, fears, shame, guilt, condemnation, etc.
When you begin to attack yourself with condemnation, I encourage you to remember God’s promise to: never allow anything to separate you from His love. No matter what sin has brought you to the point of shame before God, He still loves you. When you come to Him with a repentant heart, He doesn’t see the filth of your sins, he sees His Son who is interceding for you.
Prayer
Dear Father God,
When I think about __________________ it makes me feel such shame. But you said I am chosen and justified. Your Son Jesus prevents anything from separating me from your love. So at this moment, I repent of _______________ and I no longer allow it to distance me from the love that you have always had for me. Thank you Jesus for cleansing me from the filth of my sins and interceding for me always.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
YOU SHOULD KNOW:
I’m always praying for my readers! Visit my CONNECT page if you have a prayer request for me to include in my prayers for you.
The power of God is astounding! His might is shown robustly in the lives of believers every day. Being a follower of Jesus takes faith and the grace of God. We are not promised a life without pain or trials while we live on this earth. However, this reality allows us to see the power of God in our darkest weaknesses.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul speaks about boasting about his weaknesses. He recognizes the power of God in his life even as he lives with a thorn in his flesh. Many of us experience a thorn of mental health challenges or illness. Sometimes this thorn weakens us to the point where we suffer from a lack of energy, great sadness, high anxiety, and loss of interest, to name a few. We face sorrow just as our Savior did.
Hardships Can Create Weakness
Depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other disorders are hard to live with. It can be a daily battle. I often find life with a mental illness to be unpredictable. I never know how I will feel when I wake up each morning. I never know ahead of time that an anxiety attack is stewing. I also never know when my mood will flip throughout the day.
Suicidal ideation is also a challenge for many of us when we tire out from depressive episodes. In a state of weakness, sometimes hopelessness can come over us. I have experienced this challenge. It was hard to pull out without strength from God and my mental wellness resources.
I have wanted to give up many times during my mental health recovery. I have attended therapy and taken my medications, but sometimes the pain remains harsh. In many cases, I have combined mental wellness practices with the strength of God to pull me through my uneasy moments.
Our Darkest Weaknesses Become A Testimony
Moving on, I wanted to ask do you embrace your weaknesses as an opportunity for God to show His great power in your life? Boasting in our weaknesses allows us to testify of His sustaining power in our lives. For example, sharing my testimony has encouraged women to make God a part of their mental wellness journey. Sharing allows me to show women a first-hand example of how God can transform your life from bondage and brokenness to wholeness and deliverance.
Our Darkest Weaknesses And God’s Sufficient Grace
Earlier, I mentioned the journey of a believer requiring God’s grace. Our focus verse says that God’s grace “is sufficient” for us. How amazing is this revelation?! God’s grace covers our sins, shortcomings, and our darkest weaknesses. His grace is more than enough.
Our Lord and Savior had His struggles while living on this earth. I remember the account of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus spoke about His soul being sorrowful and grieved. He asked His Father in prayer to take the cup of suffering away. However, Jesus also told God the Father that He wanted His will done and not His own.
I’ve prayed a similar prayer asking God to remove bipolar and depression from my life. I would say that I still live with the illness; however, God has given me grace. His grace has been everything I needed to reach a point where I thrive in life despite the hardship of mental illness. His power has made me stronger in my darkest weaknesses.
Thriving In Our Darkest Weaknesses
I believe all of us have an opportunity to thrive with the presence of God in our life. Faith in the power of God and His ability to restore is crucial. Healing in the area of mental health may not always look like the complete absence of symptoms. For me, it presents like maintaining hope and faith during a depressive period. It may also look like receiving the strength to continue to push through suffering. God is responsible for the healing I’ve seen within myself. He has provided every mental wellness tool I utilize. God has eased my pain and shown me abundant life is mine.
I want to encourage you to keep going. You may experience suffering immensely, but I want to remind you that you are still loved, worthy, beautiful, and will succeed. Don’t give up on yourself. Open your heart to God and allow Him to strengthen you in weaknesses. He can also restore your confidence, drive, self-esteem, and more. He is able!
Acknowledge your weaknesses just as Paul did. Do not walk in fear. Express the goodness of God’s strength during your circumstances. You will experience the power of God’s grace and might when you do this. Continue to keep going, sister. God sees you! He will provide everything you need to thrive.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you for your strength and provision of grace! I experience weakness, but your power has been perfect amongst great pain and suffering. Thank you for never leaving me alone in my circumstance. You are faithful to provide and sustain me through whatever comes my way. Instill joy and peace throughout my mental health journey. Lead me on how to depend on you. Empower me to be a bold witness as I testify of the great things you have done. I want to always acknowledge my weaknesses as the place you have shown yourself mighty. Bring me to a place in life where I am thriving. Impart to me your purpose for my life and direct me in it. I know I can weather the darkest storms with you as my Savior. Thank you for abundant life and the promise of eternal life. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen
YOU SHOULD KNOW:
I’m always praying for my readers! Visit my CONNECT page if you have a prayer request for me to include in my prayers for you.
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
In the beginning of Psalm 139, David wrote about how well God knows him. It is evident from David’s choice of words that the knowledge God has of him is both wonderful and incomprehensible.
David describes God’s knowledge of his actions, thoughts, words, movements, and life’s path.
God’s Omniscience of Us All
The same detailed knowledge God has of David, He has of all His creations. His omniscience means that He knows everything.
Security In God’s Omniscience
We can all find great security in God, knowing that He knows everything and is sovereign. Therefore, we need not be embarrassed or fearful about facing mental health challenges in our lives.
For instance, God already knew that I would face bipolar disorder even before I was knitted in my mother’s womb. He knew every detail of how I would react to this part of my life, that I would return to a relationship with Him as an adult, and find in Him guidance, hope, and healing.
Also, He had already prepared the way for me to overcome any weapons that would form as a result of living life. I find great security in the fact that bipolar has never taken over because of God. God prepared the way for me to walk in victory over any diagnosis, chemical imbalance, or anything that I would have to face.
Thankfully, by His grace, I walk in freedom through bipolar trials, and life and abundance are available to me through the power of Jesus’ blood.
One day, when every trial and tribulation is over, I will be eternally with my Lord and Savior.
I pray that you will find security In God’s knowledge of you.
God knows every last detail about you
God has not forgotten you
God is never confused about you
God understands you
God has His hand on you
Nothing about you has escaped His knowledge
God is not caught off guard about anything concerning you
Finally, you don’t have to live in despair or fear. Your hope, healing, and deliverance from the sadness and symptoms of mental health challenges can be found in God’s omniscience of you.
He has prepared the way for you to overcome!
YOU SHOULD KNOW:
I’m always praying for my readers! Visit my CONNECT page if you have a prayer request for me to include in my prayers for you.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
As you look at the world that we live in, do you see the lack of love for one another? The lack of joy and peace? The absence of empathy and support for one another is a realistic description of our world. Many of us walk around saddened, embittered, and in torment because of this.
Jesus came with a great example of how we should live and treat one another. True unity comes about when we stand as one together with God’s desires. God chose to send His Son Jesus to redeem us from sin. His desire is for us all to be purified of sin and never separate from Him. Jesus did not please himself, but He carried the weight of our sins on Him as he journeyed to the cross. He fulfilled the Father’s mission for him!
Do you find that you are void of joy and peace at times? If yes, this could have a large part to do with a lack of God’s hope. As humans we look for security, especially in the world. Security can be found in others on a physical level to an extent, but more importantly security in God always restores us. Without God, we have no hope of living in unity with God’s desires, finding joy and peace.
Do not be saddened or worrisome because Romans 15:13 describes our God as one of hope. This hope fills us with joy and peace by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only through the Holy Spirit do we abound in hope.
God gives us loads and loads of hope when we trust in Him.
If you are doing life alone, you should acquaint yourself with the God of hope. God has showered you with His grace to do so. He is the God of hope for every Jew and Gentile. By the power of the Holy Spirit, receive God’s hope and live in joy and peace.
As we all believe, receive God’s hope, selflessly stand in support of each other and with God’s desires, we will strengthen one another instead of taring one another down.
Let us pray for hope, joy, peace and unity with one another concerning God’s will.
Dear God, Strengthen me to walk in your desires and support others around me. Thank you for Jesus, my example. Help me trust in you so that I may experience your hope. I want to live in joy and peace, experience a life of love and support for others. I pray for us as a world to turn our desires away and live in your godly desires. You alone are our only hope for joy and peace. Help us become more like your Son Jesus everyday. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.
Before you go, name your greatest takeaway from this devotional in the comments.
Have an amazing week!
P.S. – Do you want to become a believer today? I’ll show you how here.
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