December 30 - Messiah - Romans 8:31, 34

December 30 - Messiah - Romans 8:31, 34

If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.

Handel continued to have a close relationship with the Foundling Hospital and held an annual benefit performance of Messiah in their honor.  Even though he faced every day in the dark, it is said he maintained a keen sense of humor and continued to enjoy life.  His final two masterpieces, “Theodora” and “Jephtha” were composed after he had lost his sight.

We have the potential for so much and so many times we waste it because we don’t believe that we can do the things we are called to do.  Our fears control us and tell us that failure is imminent, that we will be embarrassed, that we will disappoint.

What we forget is the promise and then the query: If God is for us, who can be against us?

If God is for us, who cares if we fail? We've learned something and that’s always good.  If God is for us, why should we be embarrassed? He has seen the very worst of us and still loves us.  If God is for us, disappointment from others means nothing when we are working to do the things God has planned for us. If God is for us, who can be against us.

We have the power of God within us.  The moment we choose to live knowing that is the power that motivates us, we live without limits.  The world’s limits no longer matter, God is for us; our friends and families no longer control us with expectations, God is for us; those who ridicule or mock us no longer restrain us, God is for us.

This is an immense message that needs to be told over and over again. We are not defined by the limitations placed on us by others; we are defined by God who is for us, God who sent His Son to die to remove the taint of sin and the horror of death, God who loves us and wants His children to live.

He wants us to live without fear, filled with the knowledge of His power and love flowing through us.  If you really believed that, what would change for you today?  What would you do differently?  Just today … not tomorrow or five years down the road.  What would you do differently today, knowing that you are loved and have unlimited power and potential flowing through you?

God is for you, nothing can be against you, not even yourself.