The Power that Raised Jesus from the Dead

[Jerri Harrington]

A lot of my life was centered around fear, mostly running away from fear itself. Even after I became a Christian, I avoided thinking about the fear that lived within my troubled heart. A lot of the ways I stepped out in faith were my attempts to overcome fears. I chided myself with scriptures: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."(Phil4:13) and "Have no anxiety about anything but in everything, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace that passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6-8) So I felt guilty about having fears, but I still had them.

Then, a series of life changing events came into my life. Our oldest son became a Christian at 12 years old,and soon after that, a boy on the bus threatened him by telling him some information and then threatening to bring harm to him and our family if he told anyone. He told us, and we moved our son away from the boy and others who lived nearby.

A few weeks after we moved, my father had a major stroke, and I had to travel half way across the country, leaving my family behind right after we moved. Over the years, we were faced with most of the fears I had hidden in my heart: fears of people luring my children away from Christ, fears of chronic illness in myself and my husband, accidents and illnesses in our sons' lives, serious drug addiction in our sons' lives. death of extended family

At first, each onslaught of stressful events knocked me into despair, though I requested prayers and prayed myself. For the longest time, I believed that I caused the attacks on our family by my sins and short comings. Then, one day I realized the significance of Romans 5:6-8, a scripture that I heard many times but never applied to myself: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person though for a good person someone might be willing to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

While the Apostle Paul was still on the path that would lead him to killing Christ followers, Jesus died for him. While the Jews were screaming, "Crucify Him!" Jesus said, "Father forgive...." and He did, even as He watched His beloved Son breathe His last agonizing breath.

So, the bad that comes to us, is not our punishment, however just that would be. Sometimes we suffer consequences for our sins, but it is not God's plan to punish....but forgive. And He sends His Holy Spirit to help us overcome our sins so we don't have to live in them and be slaves to sin. "I believed; therefore, I have spoken. Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised The Lord Jesus from the dead will raise us with Jesus and present us....to Himself." 2 Corinthians 4:14