“For All” – Day Three

01 Sep “For All” – Day Three

Scripture: Romans 8:16-17 NLT – “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

Observation: Even when enduring difficult circumstances, it is important to remember how much God loves us. Every one of us is made in his image, which in turn makes us part of him and able to inherit the greatest gift ever – salvation and eternity in heaven. 

Application: Through my closed bedroom door, I hear them yelling at one another again. I look down at my threadbare blue and white printed comforter, the very same one my mom had as a teenager – blemished with pink nail polish from so many years ago. Now it’s me hiding under that comforter, using it as a shield in the hopes that it will protect me from the sadness of the world outside.  

The year is 1994 (maybe). Dad must have come home after drinking too much… again. And Mom is fed up after a long day of work and shuttling me around to my various childhood commitments. There are so many countless nights of scenes just like this one, I lose track of days, weeks, years. 

Even at my young age, I knew in my heart that my dad wasn’t a bad guy. Although I could never truly say I “knew” him, I recognized that he had demons far beyond what his little girl, or even a pint of whiskey, could heal. It didn’t matter how good I tried to be, how well I cleaned my room, or how hard I worked. I just didn’t have the power to “fix” what was broken inside of him no matter how hard I tried. 

Unfortunately, I wasted many years struggling for “perfection.” I placed unfair expectations on myself and those around me, in hopes that someone, somewhere, would live up to them. No one ever did. That was… until I put my faith in Jesus. The moment that I raised my hand in that darkened and quiet auditorium, my whole life changed. I literally felt a shift inside of me. Call it the Holy Spirit or just plain relief, but I was forever transformed. 

Humans are imperfect beings. And my dad, he’ll never be perfect… or anywhere near. That just isn’t realistic for anyone. But I finally understand that my imperfect relationship with my dad won’t sting so much now that I have a relationship with “my” perfect Father in heaven. God has the power to heal wounds, however deep and vast they may seem. All it takes is trust and faith – learning to relinquish control and share in his glory. Maybe the years of suffering I endured (although nothing in comparison to Jesus) were all necessary to make me that much more grateful to be his honored heir and child.  

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to suffer on the cross for us. As long as I live, I will never be able to repay that sacrifice; and because of your grace, I don’t have to. I pray for your guidance in living a life that pleases and honors you for everything you have done in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Jayme Rollo

Communications Writing Director

Jayme started coming to The Journey in 2017, put her faith in Jesus later that year and was baptized in 2019. She has served on the Communications Team for almost 2 years, where she enjoys expressing her creativity and writing skills in hopes of helping people to find Jesus. She attends The Journey with her 4 year old daughter, Adalynn (who LOVES Journey Kids), and her husband of 4 months, Brian, who serves on ERT (Emergency Response Team). 

Going Deeper:

• Do you have experiences from your past that you’re holding on to? How could a relationship with God help you to heal?
• Have you taken a bad relationship or situation in your life and used it to put up walls around you? Take a moment and reflect on how it would feel to remove those barriers and imagine the freedom. 
• Read through the rest of Romans 8.
• Are you ready to take that step of faith today? Or maybe you have questions or would like someone to pray with you? Share your request with us here.