"Living Like We Believe It"
By Zach Wood
Romans 8:31-32
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son,
but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
I recall so many times, when I was involved in track and cross country running, hearing the cheers of the crowd around me. These cheers were encouraging and uplifting, driving me to keep up my pace and even push a little harder. These were people who believed in me even when I did not feel I had the strength to keep running. Cross country was a little more challenging and, at times, really took a toll when you encountered a hill. I remember coming up to these hills and thinking, "There is no way I have strength to do this". It was those times that I heard cheers from the crowd, whether it be my coach, friends or family, that kept telling me to keep up and not quit. Those of you who run these races know how encouraging it is to hear those cheers from the crowd. Something about the cheers just lifts your spirits and puts a little more energy into your run.
Hills, exhaustion, heat, dehydration, fatigue. These are the things that would try to run me down when I ran my races. However, the voices of encouragement kept me going. When the negative things filled my mind and slowed me down, the positive reinforcement kept me going. Just like runners need those sounds, we need encouragement in our walk with Christ. We need to know and be reminded of Who is for us. We are each running a race every single day, trying to run harder and harder to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. The race is often very difficult. There are so many obstacles in the way that Satan throws at us. However, just as the voices encourage the runners, Christ encourages us through His Word to keep going and be strong.
Do you understand what Paul is saying here? GOD IS FOR US!!!!!! Those are very powerful words! And they are true! God is totally for us. When Satan comes along and tries to throw us off course, we can be reminded of God's promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. God is with us and He gave us His Son so that we would never be alone in the race of life.
So, do we live everyday like we believe God is for us? Do we walk with the confidence of knowing He is completely rooting for us and cheering us on? People might be against us, but if God is for us, nothing can tear us down as long as we keep focused on Him. That is hard to do at times, but not impossible. We must live like we believe God is for us. We must believe it! He is for us! That is the best encouragement we could ever have.
