And not just that it’s from Paul, but more specifically, this additional bit of great news also comes from the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans (like the last 2 episodes):

Sometimes, maybe oftentimes, life is hard. It can seem like “the world” is against us, even though most of the world doesn’t even know us. Maybe it’s a friend or group of friends. Or lack of a friend. Maybe it’s that work or school is overwhelming. It could be that physical or mental health issues have you down. Financial troubles. Marriage or family problems.

I could go on and on, and so could you, most likely. But who wants to ponder such things?

That’s why these words from Paul can be so encouraging. Which of these challenges I listed, or those you added to the list, are so big that God cannot handle them?

We might be tempted, especially when feeling sorry for ourselves, to think God doesn’t care about us or our problems, or that He doesn’t understand them. But that’s simply not true. Maybe one of the reasons Jesus came down from his throne in heaven for a time to live on this planet with us was to show us that God cares about our human problems and will help us get through them. Jesus either experienced all of these issues himself, or encountered people who were dealing with them.

A friend or group of friends turning against you? At the worst time in his life, most of Jesus’s friends deserted him because they were afraid. Peter, one of his closest friends, claimed he didn’t even know Jesus. Three times. Another of his friends betrayed him for a few coins–a betrayal that led to his execution. Don’t think for a moment that God doesn’t understand the pain of broken friendships. And where did Jesus turn in those troubling moments? To God.

Jesus faced overwhelming work, also. He knew he had only three years to undo millennia of human brokenness, which had been chipping away at God’s intentions for His relationship with humanity. We had traded the grace and peace of walking in the garden with God for hundreds of man-made rules that led people to believe they could earn a place in heaven if they just checked off all the right boxes. Jesus was so tired from his work that he slept through a storm at sea, one that was so bad that even the experienced fishermen with him thought they were going to die. Where did Jesus find the strength and endurance to keep going in spite of his exhaustion? He spent a lot of time in prayer.

Anyway, I hope you get the point: God cares about you and your problems. He is on your side and will help you face them. And not just face them–OVERCOME them!

Just a few verses later, Paul adds these encouraging words:

How great is that? Not only will God help us not to be defeated by our problems, He will help us conquer them!

And here’s the really difficult, challenging thing you have to do to invoke His help. You have to utter these words: Help me, Jesus.

That’s it. Do that, and over time, God will help you conquer every problem life throws at you! I can’t even begin to understand why everyone is not availing themselves of this awesome, inexhaustible power!

So, what are you facing right now that you think you can’t conquer with God’s help?