Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone
I’m so grateful for this opportunity to share God’s story of faithfulness with my friend, Becky L. McCoy. She hosts a fabulous podcast called Sucker Punched. I’d love for you to check out the episode and subscribe to her podcast! I promise you’ll be encouraged by the stories of God’s grace in the midst of hard times she shares each week.
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What makes you happy?
A good night’s sleep? A delicious dinner you didn’t have to cook? A new pair of shoes? (Those are all near the top of my list!)
These small blessings bring happiness, but often those feelings are fleeting. We enjoy dinner out with friends and then our mood sours because an inconsiderate driver cuts us off on our way home. We’re ecstatic about our new shoes until we see someone else with a pair we’d rather have. And when we struggle with ongoing, difficult circumstances, happiness can be hard to find—no matter how many pairs of shoes we buy.
Last week, we saw in Romans 5:1 that we have peace with God through faith in Christ. In the next verse, we read that we always have a reason to rejoice:
“Through [Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)
Because of Christ, we have a secure standing before God and a firm hope in eternal life. We stand in the grace of Christ’s righteousness given to us. He gives us the promise that we will share in God’s glory one day in Heaven. This is an unchanging reason to rejoice!
This week as you face difficulties, cling to the promise that you stand secure in God’s grace and the hope of eternity with Him. And as Paul says in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
No matter what you face this week, God’s promises give you a reason to rejoice.
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What are your greatest fears? Take a minute and name a few. Now answer this: what should be your greatest fears?
Maybe you’re afraid of natural disasters or terrorism affecting your family. But statistically speaking, you should be more concerned about car accidents and heart disease. Sometimes our greatest fears don’t line up with the greatest threats we face.
If we fear that which is our greatest threat, we should all fear God’s wrath. We belong to a holy and righteous Creator who will hold us accountable for our actions. And we will all fall short (Romans 3:23). But the good news of the gospel is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you are in Christ by faith, you are covered by His righteousness and have no reason to fear!
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Because of Christ, we have peace with God. We are reconciled to our Heavenly Father and Righteous Judge, the Lord God Almighty. We are declared righteous by God because of the righteousness given to us by Christ. Justification by faith eliminates our greatest threat – that which should be our greatest fear.
As a result, we can live confidently and face all our lesser fears. All other threats are temporary. All other fears come under the reign of the One who gave His own Son to turn away His wrath from us. We can praise His name as we walk through suffering because our greatest need has been met: our need to have peace with God.
No matter what you face this week, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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I sat in my counselor’s office with silent tears sliding down my face, feeling flattened by the pressures of life. The expectations placed on me by myself and others were more than I could bear. My counselor handed me a blank sheet of paper and a cup full of markers.
“Draw it,” she said.
I’m no artist, but I tried my best. I drew a stick figure lying at the bottom of the page, with harsh arrows pointing down at the distraught figure. (That is, the stick figure who would have looked distraught if I had known how to draw that.)
The arrows represented the pressure I felt to be:
The impossible standards of those arrows were a heavy weight on my shoulders, reminding me of my daily shortcomings. I felt trapped, laid out on the floor, just like the defeated, joyless stick figure in my drawing.
Then my counselor asked me to draw how it could feel better.
Can you relate? If so, click here to continue reading with me over on (in)courage today . . .
