Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? …
Romans 8:35, 39
Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God.
This week has been full of hard and discouraging conversations at ATLAS. Praise God we don’t rely on ourselves. The Holy Spirit is working in people’s lives through the Word of God as we continually point people to it.
One example this week was a woman we mentor. She stopped by because she’s become paralyzed with indecision about a choice she needs to make regarding her job. The anxiety and stress of this decision were obviously crushing her, so I asked her if she was afraid that God was going to be upset and punish her if she made the wrong choice. She said she was terrified of that very thing. She was worried one wrong decision – not even a sinful decision, just a decision about a job – is going to lead God to cast her aside and cause her to lose her salvation if she doesn’t get it right. She haD this terrified view that God is just waiting to catch her doing something wrong so he can punish her for it.
She had no hope or help. Making it through her struggles was entirely dependent on her own strength. Stress and anxiety reigned supreme in her life. In her view, her faith was hanging by a thread and God was just waiting to cut that thread at any moment if she didn’t make the right decision. She is a professed Christian and that is her view of God.
I painted a much different picture of who God is and how he works in our lives. We talked through a few key passages of Scripture and discussed what the Gospel truly is and what it means for those who believe.
I say this a lot, but what we believe about God matters immensely to how we live our lives. Our actions flow from our beliefs. So correctly understanding the truth of God’s Word matters. It isn’t optional for believers. I’m so thankful for the mentors we have at ATLAS who are walking alongside people right now helping them learn the truth about who God is and how that truth impacts their lives.
A Thrill of Hope 