This week's sermon passage, Romans 8:26-28, is one of those remarkable vistas on the journey to the peak of Romans 8—a peak that we eventually will experience on Easter Sunday. In some ways, this is a training passage, preparing us to trust God now in advance of those times that otherwise would paralyze us with worry. As we learn from this passage, we will face our tendency toward a need for control, and the anxiety that comes from not being in control. We will admit what we don't know, but find hope in what we can know. We also will address the questions that many of us ask and statements we make in light of this passage, such as:

• Things don't seem to be working for good in my life?
• God never comes through for me.
• It’s hard to love a God who never answers your prayers.
• And why would a good God allow such evil and suffering?

Obviously, this is deep and weighty stuff. But what we find in this passage provides more than enough encouragement for even the most broken, wounded and/or skeptical among us. For the big question is not only why would a good God allow evil and suffering, but why would God endure such evil and suffering? Once we can grasp the answer to that question, we will be on the road to discovering some practical help with the paralyzing effects of worry, and potentially the road to a major spirital breakthrough. On Sunday, we'll discuss a handfull of practical implications that I think are going to make a difference in your life and mine. This is rubber hits the road time. So bring a friend if you are able. I really think you both will be glad you did.   

Here is the passage:

"26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Here are the sermon notes for this week's message. The audio is here. Until next Sunday, have a great week!

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Romans_5.1-5.the_anxiety_cure.pdf (40 KB)

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Click here to download:

Romans_5.1-5.the_anxiety_cure.pdf (40 KB)

Is it possible that God might be letting me experience intense anxiety, worry and stress so that I finally will come to a point where I will stop trying to control my life, and will cry out for grace... and then experience peace." Or as Peter says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." In other words, God even uses anxiety, worry and stress for good — like the law, to lead us to Jesus.

I received an email from a friend the other day that proposed a prescription for stress-free living. It's not a remedy that we'll find in a pill. He said that the key to the stress-free life is the faith-filled life. Meaning, if I were to live out practically what I confess theologically about God, then I could live like a child with the ultimate in trustworthy Fathers. As stress-free as a three-year-old asleep in his carseat in the back of the van.

The truth is that my Father is sovereign over all people and events, big and small. Not only is he ultimately in control of everything, he is good, kind, wise, and loving. His aim is to bless those who are his. He is a Father who "causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  I know that I have been called, and I really do want to love him. So, the issue may be how I define what is good—what blessing is. Is my comfort and health the great good? Is wealth the ultimate blessing? Is it popularity and success? I don't think so. The ultimate good probably is knowing that which is ultimately most satisfying for the human soul, which is knowing this Father/God in a personal, intimate way, trusting his plan, resting in his love, and leaning on his grace. Always, like breathing.

This does not mean that I quit my job or stop paying my bills. It means that, as I work, lead my family, pay bills, replace light bulbs, fix flat tires and deal with other frustrations of sin in my life and in the world around me, that I am continually talking to him and listening to him, consciously aware of my need, his presence, his power and his purpose (granted, a purpose that is beyond my understanding, which is another reason to trust without having to know results). So I ask for help a lot. I go to him with my fears and tears. I make much of him, living as a Jesus-dependent in every area of my life, seeking the fullness of his Spirit to know God as Abba and experience his fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.).

But is the stress-free life really possible? In theory, yes. If only I will become a child. In those moments, stress dissipates. So, when my body begins showing signs of stress, fear and anxiety, I need to know that I am not condmened. Those symptoms are functioning like the law, driving me to Jesus for my justification, hope and peace. Stress is saying, "you are trying to hard. You are playing God. It's time to cry out, 'Abba, Father,' and reorient yourself to the truth of the gospel." Seen from that perspective, I can affirm that my Father does indeed cause all things to work for good—even stress. To make me a child again. So that I can rest in the back of the van.

Sunday at Creekstone we prayed the Lord's Prayer together. One line that we tend to recite without thinking too deeply is, "Thy will be done." Are we sure we know what we are saying? Thy will? To be honest, I tend to be tenaciously committed to the fulfillment of my will. It is that commitment that sows the seeds of worry, anxiety, fear, drivenness, control and self-protection, among other things. So to pray for the Father's will to be realized is a strong statement of humility, faith and dependency upon the all-sovereign, all-wise and all-loving redemptive plan of God. Humility, faith and dependency cannot co-exist with the idol of my playing the role of Lord of my own life.  And as someone has said, being God is way above my pay scale. I'm simply not equipped for that task. After all, if I were God, I never would have planned to rescue the unworthy from their sins  — especially through the heinous death of my own son. Yet, as Isaiah 53 says, "It was the Lord's will to crush him" because "All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all" (NLT). Eternal love. Ungraspable grace.  Thank you, Father, that Jesus prayed "Thy will be done," and followed through with the plan. Now help me trust your sovereign, wise and loving will with humility, faith and dependency as I journey this day on the paths you have laid out for me.