Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I sit here today as I write this as a very different man than I was merely 30 days ago. I am not a pastor. I am not a preacher. I am not a theologian. I am not a husband to a godly wife. I am not a father to beautiful daughters. I am not a musician. I am not an athlete. I am not famous nor wealthy.
My life up to this point has been marked by tragedy and struggle. As God clearly promises us in Scripture, we WILL face challenges of many kinds. With God’s help and love I have persevered through them. Yet, not without bearing a great many scars.
Scars that lead to actions that are made in both a sound and unsound mind. Yes brothers and sisters, mental health is a very real crisis in our world today. One that many in the church will either misrepresent it out of ignorance of never having fought this battle. One that many in the church turn a blind eye to. Your mental health is something that strongly parallels your spiritual health. Being of an unsound mind can lead one to being of an unsound soul.
I have recently experienced this so clearly that it cannot be something that sits in silence. Due to a challenging (understatement) childhood, I found myself with a very troubling adulthood. One that left me constantly in fear of losing the love of those whom I care deeply for. This was equally impactful with my relationship with God. One that left me in such grief of my sin that I was sure that “there is no possible way He could truly love a wretch like me.”
This deeply troubling thought process drove me further and further into a hole that was impossible to climb out of on my own. I know I am preaching to the choir to a great many people out there with this struggle. Reading through Scriptures about the Children of Wrath, or those that God casts judgement upon. Those who commit sheer wickedness through their hearts, minds, and hands. The “worst of the worst”, of which I surely am the chief of them all as Paul might say.
My friends…there is humility in our comparative lacking compared to Him…and then there are lies. Lies that lead us further from Him instead of towards Him. A feeling of “your sin makes God disgusted in you.” or one of my least favorites, “you cannot ever come back from this.” These thoughts swirling and drowning out the truth. Making as much noise as they possibly can to distract away from what God TRULY thinks and feels.
If we look at the Scripture above we find the Apostle Paul almost pleading with the believers in Rome. The whole of Chapter 8 of the book of Romans is a long parallel between those who are of the world, and who are truly, TRULY of God. Paul uses language that points to those who “live by the Spirit.” The Spirit in question being the third person of the Godhead…the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that convicts, guides, and teaches those whom He indwells. It is this same Spirit that causes a believer to grieve their sin so fully.
This same grief, as painful as it is, is also, without a doubt, one of the greatest comforts in all of Creation. You see, this constant back and forth battle of “am I REALLY beloved of God?” “Am I REALLY saved?” It can be answered so quickly. Do you child grieve your sin? If the answer is yes then may I say something that may sound so profound and unbelivable to you? This same thing that God Himself laid upon me on my kitchen floor one afternoon after fully breaking down in anguish.
God Loves You…God Loves Me…God Loves His Bride! He is not a God that would leave you and abandon you. Look again at the Scripture above from Romans. There is nothing…NOTHING…that can separate you from His love when you are of Him and in Him. Those who cry aloud at night for a savior. Those who through puddles of tears on their kitchen floor plead for redemption. Those whose identity is utterly centered on your failures instead of your faith. God, the creator of all things. The Lord of Heaven and Earth….He loves your soul. And you cannot outsin His kind of love.
SOLI DEO GLORIA!!!!!
