Learning How to Survive “One of Those Days”
It was one of those mornings when the weather was freakishly cold for June. Even with the heat from my firepit, I knew it was too chilly to have my quiet time outside. So, I chose to pour my cup of coffee and plant myself in the front room where I turned on the electric fireplace and lighted a candle for ambiance.
I dug into God’s Word and enjoyed my time with Jesus. That is until, as I was finishing, I began to look around and took notice of a number of things I had yet to accomplish. Even though I had found encouragement through reading my Bible and soaking up Jesus, my mind quickly took a downward turn as I filled a sheet of notebook paper with all the things I realized I was not doing, or that I needed to do.
Emotional Down-Spiral
And then I was stuck. Stuck in a sadness, stuck in feeling helpless, stuck in feeling overwhelmed. It was as if quicksand trapped my emotions, and I was unable to free myself from the onslaught that was drawing me deeper and deeper into its depths.
Have you ever been there? There’s a part of your brain that is able to compartmentalize and is screaming: your emotions aren’t telling you the whole truth! But the rational side of you is fighting a losing battle.
Unmet Expectations
I was supposed to be spending the day writing and prepping for a blog post. That didn’t happen. Instead, I began tackling one of the items on my new to-do list. At the outset I hoped I would accomplish a task or two, feel energized, sit at my computer, and type out initial thoughts I could later craft into a blog.
My hopes were dashed when I finally completed that initial task at 3 in the afternoon. What I thought would be a one-hour task, a one-and-a-half-hour task at most, morphed into four plus hours.
Let me just state for the record: some days are like that.
And it’s okay.
Lies vs. Hope
When I first wrote out my list, I felt like a failure. Satan wanted me to believe his lies: I wasn’t good enough; I didn’t measure up; I wasn’t as good as so-and-so; I had nothing to offer because I couldn’t do what was right in front of me. Romans 8 offers us reassurance that we don’t have to complete a list of things on some outlandish list for God to accept us.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice of our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-4 NLT
Made for Relationship
God knows we will never be able to conquer any list that declares we are enough. There are some amazing people in our world who achieve quite a bit, but none of us can do it all. No matter the number of things any one of us can check off, we aren’t enough to attain what we were created for: to be in relationship with our Holy Creator.
Our sinful nature separates us from the intimate relationship God originally designed. In the Old Testament, we learn about the instructions God gave to the children of Israel so they could enter back into relationship with a holy God. The Israelites called the instructions the Law, and it was a list too hard to keep.
Law vs. Mercy
Out of His great love and mercy, God sent Jesus, His Son, to pay the penalty that our sin demanded. That’s why Romans 8:2 declares that life in Jesus sets us free. We don’t have to keep the extensive list of the Law, instead, we accept the truth that Jesus died for us. We receive God’s gift of grace.
Now we get to live “not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4)
Spirit Living
What does that mean? It means we don’t have to work to measure up. It means we aren’t trying to always prove our worth. It means we don’t have to live life comparing ourselves to others and what they are able to accomplish.
And it also means that we do not live to satisfy ourselves. God offers us the privilege of relationship with Him, the same relationship He created us to enjoy. We live by a new set of rules and boundaries that come from a God who loves us with an overwhelming pure love.
Living Out Hope
On my dismal day of distress and despair, I never heard a condemning word from God. I often heard Him whisper throughout the day to do the next thing in front of me. He didn’t push me to move faster or work harder. God’s Spirit gently spoke reassuring words to my soul: He accepted me just as I was in that moment, He loved me, and He was proud of me. That’s the hope of Romans 8.
There is no condemnation for those of us who have accepted God’s mercy; there is nothing we must check off today that declares us worthy. Jesus did what was needed, we are now free to live.
Without Condemnation
I’ve moved beyond the downward spiral of that day, but that doesn’t mean I’m not feeling the after-effects of my experience. I still have my list, and I must still accomplish most of it at some point or other. There are still lessons each of us must learn as we live according to the Spirit, always recalling there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
Whether your to-do list today is long or short, simple or difficult, overwhelming or non-existent, if you have accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation, God accepts you. Right where you are, just as you are. He’s whispering He loves you, He’s proud of you, and He’s gently nudging you to just do the next thing in front of you.
Squirrel Photo by Tricia Galvin on Unsplash
