Romans 8:9-21
The other day, I was typing a medical profile for a patient. He was a patient who suffered from depression, and anxiety. He was also a patient, with a successful career, a home in an expensive town of Fairfield County, married with kids. As I was typing the information, I found myself wondering, why would this person be so unhappy? He seemed so successful! So many times, I find myself going back to the old thinking, assuming that the world, the success, the family, the zip code, can heal a person wounds, can satisfy the inner longings of a human being.
Romans 8, reminds me once again that, without the Spirit of Christ living in me, I am like the walking dead. On the opposite, "if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." (Romans 8:10). I want to feel alive. I want my spirit to be alive. That will not get accomplished by focusing on the world, and being a highly successful person, but by spending time with Jesus and cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit. He is the key to my aliveness, not my busy agenda.
"Busyness… can be a way to avoid God, the meaning of life, and life itself." (Sidney Macaulay). The world, no matter how sweet its promises, can never satisfy, or save me. It just doesn't have that ability. Only God can, "he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." (Romans 8:11).
" You did not receive a spirit that makes you slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship." (Romans 8:15). No doubt, when I focus on the world I am filled with the spirit of fear. It's enough to watch the news for 15 minutes, and I find myself in fear and worry about the future. I look through a magazine, and within a few pages, I am invited to believe that I am not enough, I don't have enough but if I could just buy some more things, I might get there somehow. What an illusion!
It is a different story when I spend time with God. I am not only told that I am enough, but that I am a daughter, a heir of God. (Romans 8:16). I am not only cured of the spirit of fear and worry, but given the peace that transcends all understanding. The world of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."(Galatians 5:22-23) Every time I find myself in fear, worry, anger, frustration, it is a clear sign, that I am on the wrong path and need to go back to my Father.
Lord, help us to always focus on You, and always choose You. Thank you for being our Father!
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