We took a break from the blog for the past two weeks because of the open house and then catching up after the open house, but we are back on a regular blog schedule!  Today’s devotional was a great reminder for us as an agency that God is 100% for us and no one and nothing can stop His good purpose for us. 

We specifically looked at Romans 8:31-34:

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  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?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own?  No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself,  Who then will condemn us?  No one— for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us , and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

All of us have probably heard these verses before, but it can so difficult for us to internalize and truly understand God’s heart for us in these verses.  As we sat around the conference table and talked about what these verses meant for us individually and as an agency, God revealed some powerful truths to us:

1. Is God our savior or our condemner?  The answer is easy—He is our savior—but we worry and stress about the big and little problems in our life so much that we tend to forget how God gave up His only child to save us.  “Who then will condemn us?  No one—for Christ Jesus died for us.”  There is absolutely nothing God won’t do on our behalf; He does not condemn us, but rather saves us.
2. I am for you, no one can be against you.  Several staff members heard these words from the Lord during devotional.  Such a short and sweet, but powerful message for us to remember when we feel overwhelmed and attacked by the enemy.  Verse 34 says Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God pleading for us—God’s only son who took our punishment and made it possible to spend eternity with Him is advocating for us in heaven.  Imagine how boldly we would live our lives if we kept this thought at the forefront of our minds!
3. We can easily become distracted by unjustness and the problems at hand unless we keep our focus on God.  He ensures that the lies and schemes of the enemy will not come to pass.  In the field of social work it is so difficult not to become enraged at unjust situations and unfair treatment of the innocent, but if we don’t keep our focus on God our own emotions make us more susceptible to the lies of the enemy.  Some staff members shared that they used all their driving time to listen to sermons or worship music in order to refocus on God and keep their thoughts from turning to anger or frustration at unjust situations.  We prayed specifically that we would continue to keep our focus as an agency solely on God and follow the path and plans that He has prepared and laid out for us.

Today’s devotional and prayer time was full of some wonderful and practical truths for us in the world of social work, but also for us as believers.  The enemy tries each and every day to tear us down and make us believe lies, but God tells us that no one can be against us when we are His children.  “God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.”  God saves and protects us, and Jesus advocates for us; no one can harm us with this kind of spiritual protection!