“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2Cor.1:9).
Heavenly Father, as your diverse and impossible to count children, you love all of us equally. But a gazillion times better than saying, “you love each of us as though there was only one of us”—you actually love each of us as much as you love Jesus. How is this possible? Because you have placed our lives in Christ (2Cor.5:17), put his life in us (Col.1:27), and count Jesus’ righteousness as our very own (1Cor.1:39). This is stunning, still hard to believe, and counterintuitive to the max.
Father, make this glorious, good news more real and precious to us than ever—especially when, like Paul, we experience hardships and heartaches that make us vulnerable to the quiet whispering and loud mockery of the devil. There’s still a part of us that believes a performance-based relationship with you is more true than the Gospel.
We hear graceless Pharisees in our lives (or the one who lives inside us) say, “This hard thing happened to you because you didn’t pray enough, wait long enough to marry the right person, please God enough, repent enough, read your Bible enough”… the “not-enough’s” go on and on. Father, thank you for making Jesus our “more-than-enough.”
Taking responsibility for our choices is one thing, but a big percentage of the hardest things aren’t to be blamed on anybody. But even when others are responsible for our pain (as was Paul’s experience), every hardship is to be stewarded as an opportunity to follow Paul in turning from self-reliance to Abba-reliance. HELP us, Father.
Can we trust you? Are you willing to meet us and bring your mercy and grace to bear—even when we have “blown it”? Father, you are “the God who raises the dead”—beginning with Jesus. Yes you can be trusted—no matter what our “this” is. Your name is Redeemer, not Re-Do. Hallelujah, and So Very Amen.