Romans 12:2: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
As I write this blog post today, I find myself reeling after a couple of really difficult weeks. Difficult losses, unmet expectations, inconvenient logistical changes, and other unfortunate circumstances have left me in a really tough place physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. All of these realities have made writing a difficult endeavor. I was unsure of what exactly I wanted to say or how I wanted to say it. But, as I reflected on the highlighted verse from Paul’s letter, I realized what I wanted to talk about.
When I would think about Romans 12:2 in the past, I would usually view it as a commentary on how we, as followers of Jesus, should interact with temptations or desires that go against what God has asked of us. And, while I don’t view that as a wrong interpretation, I will say that the past few weeks have made me look at Paul’s words in a bit of a different light.
When dealing with things that weigh on our minds and hearts, I believe that followers of Jesus have an opportunity to be different. When we have a down week, or multiple down weeks, we can trust that we are still held tight in God’s steady hands and that there is hope even in the darkest and most difficult of circumstances. To be sure, this doesn’t exclude us from feeling grief, or deep sadness, or any other emotion, but rather, walking with Jesus helps us have the confidence to face those feelings and emotions and trust that we are not alone in the fight. It’s not up to us to carry all of these emotions ourselves. We have hope when there seems to be no hope and a firm identity when everything that we cling to seems to be fading. So, even in the midst of the hardest challenges, we can have hope and face it all because of the God that is in us and the people and resources that God puts in our lives.
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