DEVOTION: Good News and Bad News by Kathi Macias

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

     

           Most of us at some time in our lives have heard someone say, “I’ve got good news and bad news.” The Scriptures are the epitome of that saying, aren’t they? I believe one of the reasons the gospel is referred to as the “Good News” is that we’re so inundated with bad news and are desperately looking for relief! But the bad news we hear from the media each day scarcely comes close to the bad news we can find in the Bible.
            Hebrews 11 is the perfect example. In that chapter we learn that as followers of Jesus we can expect to be persecuted and suffer, even as the saints of old, who were mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, slain, wandered in the wilderness, afflicted, and tormented. And that doesn’t even begin to describe what Jesus Himself endured for us, and what Romans 8:17 and countless other verses promise that we too may suffer in His name!
            Yes, there is a lot of bad news, but we can sum it up like this: The world is NOT fair, the devil hates us and wants to destroy us and never takes a vacation, and the situation will probably get worse before it gets better.
            But God…
            And that’s where the Good News comes in, beloved. Though the world and the devil and all his demon hordes may align themselves against us (and they have!), GOD IS FOR US! Romans 8:17 therefore confidently declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” That verse isn’t promising that nothing or no one will come against us, but rather, because God stands with us and for us and even beneath us, holding us up, not one of the enemies who comes against us can defeat us! Though they may inflict temporary pain and suffering and torment—and even take our very lives—ultimately they lose, and we win.
            And that, my friends, is the Good News! The One who stands with us, who fights for us, who even died for us to ensure that the enemies who hate us can never triumph over us, has determined that we are to be “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). In fact, verses 38-39 continue with this amazing promise, which we would all do well to memorize:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

            As we continue to “fight the good fight,” let’s remember that the One who fights for us has already secured the victory and has promised that absolutely nothing can separate us from His great love. And that, beloved, is the best news anyone can ever hear!

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband.