From Anita Wood
Reminders… How does God help you remember? One way He brings things to my mind is when I share
with others. Sometimes its when I’m having conversations, other times when I research for teaching,
and like today, cleaning my desk at home!
As I sort through what stays and what goes, I came across a presentation I prepared some weeks back.
The first line caught my attention: God’s Word helps us move through change successfully. If there has
ever been a season or circumstance that requires change its now—today! Seems most things we do in
our everyday life is different than it was months before. There is a may not be a ‘going-back’, so here’s
some help to review as we move forward.
Romans chapter 8 is timely help. Through this chapter Paul shares how God lives in us and IS our life. We
are not obligated to live in the flesh because His Holy Spirit testifies, encourages, and reminds us of our
Godly heritage! Our hope is in Him. He helpS our weakness! [now—pay attention to the ‘s’ in the word
helps, because it indicates we are in this together with God… He doesn’t ‘do’ everything, but neither do
we—we work together!]
Our Heavenly Father works all things together, the good, bad, and ugly, and it becomes something He
calls ‘good’ in our life. He puts it all together to give us the opportunity to become more like Jesus: that’s
His goal for us.
Paul continues by listing descriptions of things that has NO power to separate us from God’s love. His list
is so interesting: one you should write yourself, and by doing so, you’ll remember that nothing has the
power to separate us from the LOVE of God.
Paul’s list is interesting. It includes words like anguish, narrow confines, a deep rut; feeling stuck with
little or no choice… misery, grief, being pursued… Or, living with scarcity and new limitations; feeling
threatened or at risk, like some ‘war’ seems waged against us…
Well, Paul’s stance provides us an awesome example: he was CONVINCED that God is trustworthy; he
was absolutely certain… that NO circumstance has the power to separate us from God’s love!
What a great reminder today! I needed this reminder. Did you too? Take comfort with the reassurance
we find in Romans 8. We’ll trust and move forward together!