Radical: My God Is For Me

Radical 1

My God Is For Me

Message by Daniel Carandang

Blog by Ashley Petallano & Ana Andres

Radical.

“What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Romans 8:31

The verse is a benefit for those who belong to Christ. Truly, if we are a member of His family, we are assured that no force on this earth can shake us if we are with Him. Christ’s sacrifice promised no condemnation at all.

What does this mean?

Yes our God is for us, He is with us, He forgives us and He can do anything! But sometimes we don’t believe so. Why? When tragedy strikes our life or when we feel we’re not good enough, our human understanding is that God might be against us, that perhaps He is punishing us but no this is not true because once we belong to Jesus, we are at peace with God. The greek construction is even better translated as “Since God is for us”. This just emphasizes that “God is for us” is not questionable because He truly and genuinely is.

And because God is for us...

I.  I can run to God

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

Romans 8:15-16

Slaves have this constant fear of their masters. No, we’re not talking about the bone-chilling fear. It’s the type of fear derived out of respect and the mere fact that they know they do not belong to their master’s family. Slaves don’t casually take things from their master’s kitchen. They know that they have no right to do so because they have no relations to their masters.

It’s different for a son or daughter.

A child of the family can easily get anything he wants from the kitchen because he knows that he is a part of the family and has every right to do so.

Once we accept Christ and dedicate our lives to Him, we are considered His own children. We are not His slaves, we are His sons and daughters.

Hebrews 4:16

With confidence, we can approach God as we would our earthly fathers. We should not run from Him rather we should run to Him. Pursue an intimate relationship with the Father who is perfect in every aspect because His arms are waiting for you.

II. I can rest in God

Romans 8:26

How can all things work together for the good?

Can tragedies actually lead to something worth it?

It’s not easy to understand. In fact, it’s even difficult to believe. When circumstances are at their most terrible, it’s hard to see God.

When faced with trials such as losing loved ones, failing subjects, disasters and such, we ask ourselves: “Is God really good?”

Try and look at it from God’s perspective.

He is not mean. He does not intentionally send tragedy your way just to make you miserable or to punish you. We sometimes have this image of God as a big bully who takes toys away from kids. He’s not like that.

He allows such circumstances for us to grow stronger. Clay molded into pots cannot become pots unless they are brought over fire. Diamonds cannot sparkle unless they are lasered. Pain is a process we must go through in order to grow. We would never learn if things remain fine.

It’s also during times of trials that we grow closer to Him. God wants us to rest in His arms; to trust that He knows what He’s doing. He will never let anything happen when He knows it will harm us. God is always after our own good.

Sometimes our limited human capacity doesn’t know how to cope with our problems but God did not leave us to our own aid. He gave the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness and sometimes when we don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us. So then we should not fear because there is nothing that God won’t understand and as we pray, He will not only answer us but also reveal to us the things that are beyond our earthly mindsets. 

III. I can be secure in God

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, Who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Romans 8:33-34

Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for us to pay for our sins and to redeem us, we can now run in to the arms of a loving God and be totally safe and sound in Him. Although sometimes we still stumble and fall short, that does not mean that we will be removed from the family of God. We were saved by Grace and not through our performance and hence it is also by Grace that we are in God’s family and that we perpetually continue to be so. We will never be found guilty as our sins have been completely washed away by the blood of Christ but that doesn’t mean that we should continue to sin because if we have genuinely understood the Gospel, it will show in our life—even though you're not perfect. In your words, actions, and life—there WILL be a difference!

When we please God, let us not do it out of compulsion. Don’t do so if you feel forced. It’s not worth it if it’s not genuine. We please Him because of love and gratitude.

You can rest knowing that you stay in His family because of His grace and not by your works.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[a]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

Romans 8:35-37