Pity parties are stupid.
After throwing up all over my word processor in my last blog, I feel like I need to respond to myself and maintain some level of self-respect and assert the fact that I have some control over my feelings, dangit. I was in a coffee shop today, reading Romans 8, and suddenly all the fears, all the anxieties, and all the self-doubt and helplessness I was feeling up till now left.
And here’s how that happened.
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
–Romans 8:2
I like freedom. Freedom sounds great. I would love to be free from my mental cogs churning and whirling and wondering what-if and what-next. Sure, worrying is not really on the sin-scale with murder and adultery and whatnot, but hey, I don’t want the power of anything ruling me that isn’t God. Clearly, worry falls under that category.
But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
–Romans 8:6b
Life? Peace? Sign me up.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
–Romans 8:15
And here we are at the heart of the matter. I am not a slave to my worries. I am not a slave to my fear. I am free to pursue my purpose. And if I don’t know what my purpose is, that’s fine. Every step I choose to take leads me to learn something about what it is…or isn’t.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
–Romans 8:28
God’s got a purpose for me. What the heck am I doing freaking out about it? As long as I’m pursuing him, he’s going to guide me. He knows what I want, he knows what I need, and he wants the best for me. He’s not going to let me fall for the sake of falling.
If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
–Romans 8:31b-32
Well, I can’t really argue with that. If the creator of the cosmos is rooting for me, there’s not much I should be worried about.
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 can separate us from God’s love. No powers 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.
–Romans 8:38-39
Even with my worries and fears, God still loves me. He loves me always. He loves me in a way that can’t be measured by life spans or height or depth or anything else. And because he loves me, he’s not going to leave me.
And here’s another reason I don’t need to worry. I can do it. Whatever “it” is, I can do it. God created me with the ability to be proactive. He gave me the freedom to make choices. And he believes in me.
And I’m not alone. I have a support team of 40 other men and women who have been through the same thing I have.
Worrying? I don’t have time to worry. I hear it shortens your life. I’ve got too much to do for that to happen.
