UNCOMMEN: Fear NotSýnishorn

Not Under Beds Nor Closets

Have you ever spoken to someone who is determined in finding the bad in  every situation? Winnie the Pooh has Eeyore, SNL has Debbie Downer, and you and I have the evening news. 

It goes something like this:

You text your child, and they don’t respond within .00032 seconds. You start to envision your child in a ditch on the side of the road, or maybe they have been kidnapped.

Your boss emails you at 6pm informing that they want to see you in their office first thing in the morning. You start to update your resume so when you get fired, you’ll be ready.

Your wife says, “We need to talk." WARNING!!! WARNING!!! Oh boy, I’m in trouble!

As you can see, we’re almost prewired to expect the worst in most situations—even when it’s not warranted. Your child may not text you back right then because they are driving and it’s not safe. Your boss may want to get your opinion on a project or tell you how good a job you’re doing. Your wife is asking to talk with you about needing to make time for each other. 

My favorite part of this verse is how it ends.  Paul knew there might be somebody who says, "Well, what about..." , He ends with, "Nor anything else."

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, neither powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else. 

Trials will come, anxiety will occur, failure will happen, hardship will come, but one thing you can always bet on is the love of God for you. He promises Christians that He will never leave them. Your eternity is secured.

At the end of Romans 8, in my opinion, is one of the most encouraging sections of scripture, period. It shows us that life is hard, but God is better, and He always comes through.

Uncommen Questions:

Do you question your faith in Christ Jesus?

In light of today’s passage, do you think there is anything that can separate us from Jesus?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you to spend a week dwelling on the fact that you have been bought with the blood of Christ once and for all. Nothing you can do or can be done to you will change that. Revel in that fact! Shout for Joy! Praise God that He is that powerful and He loves us that much.

Scripture Reference:
Romans 8: 31-39