Romans chapter eight is by far my favorite chapter in the entire N.T. scripture. Its premises and promises are so incredibly powerful as to provide perfect peace in the midst of the worst of circumstances (incidentally, just like my favorite passage in the O.T. scriptures, the 46th Psalm). Are you in Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you hurting? Do you sometimes feel powerless despite your God given, daily, no condemnation, complete, right now, Romans eight-defined victory? If so, then probably you need to re-read that Romans 8 text, repeatedly; and then perhaps, reconsider Dorothy…
Poor, pitiful, pilgrimatic and problematic Dorothy; a stranger who was stranded in a strange land where she’d strangely landed. She simply wanted to go home. If only she knew how. Then someone suggested that surely the wizard would know how, and so, she sets out on a perilous and dangerous pilgrimage down the yellow brick road towards Oz. Along the way she meets some weary souls who are willing, like her, to face whatever perils might come – including death itself if necessary – in order to obtain the one thing that they themselves most desired; to the simple scarecrow, a brain; to the tarnished tin man, a heart; and to the cowardly lion, courage. And then, after a long and dangerous peril-fraught journey which involved repeatedly facing death and destruction at the hands of their enemy, when they finally reached their all-important destination it was revealed to them that the very powers they had so zealously and desperately sought to possess, had in reality, been within them from the very beginning. They just hadn’t realized this simple truth. And just think how much trouble they could have saved themselves if they’d only realized what was already theirs, and in fact, had dwelt within them from the very beginning! Amazing!
But is it really any different with us, as we, along with many other weary souls, journey through untold darkness and danger toward home and heaven, always seeking to at last experience the God-promised peace, joy, and victory that we so desperately desire – while facing incredibly powerful and seemingly overwhelming opposition and heartache at every step from Satan himself?
God wants you to know that you don’t have to go through life like that. God wants you to know that some of the blessings you seek from Him, He’s already placed within your grasp. God wants you to know that you don’t need to tackle the terror to taste the triumph. He’s already faced it, beaten it, and given you the victory: both in it, over it, and through it. You don’t have to daily go through hell to get to Heaven despite what the old rock-n-roll song says to the contrary; Christ already has, so you already can. He’s trying to tell you in Romans eight that the victory you seek is already yours now – don’t leave (for) home without (knowing) it!
Understand, God doesn’t want you to be like the scarecrow; a poor, pitiful, and paltry imitation of a man, confined to a lonely, forgotten post, whose sole purpose for existence was to try to scare away all of those flitting black little pests who were totally unafraid of him and who attacked him relentlessly. Why, when he figured out that he didn’t have a brain (really think about that one for a moment), it was the “last straw.” So, he joined Dorothy on her journey, “witch” really got him “fired up.” God wants you to use the brain He’s already given you, to understand the victory He’s already given you, here and now in Christ Jesus. That’s what Romans the eighth chapter is all about. Just re-read verse one alone!
And, although you may have found the tin man to be a rather riveting character, God doesn’t want you to be a spiritual tin man either; empty, hollow, hapless, helpless, and hopeless. Do you remember how a sudden rainstorm would leave him rusted and immobile? It rendered him useless. Unfortunately many Christians today wind up in the same condition at the slightest suggestion of an approaching storm themselves. However, those who understand that they don’t have to wait until the “sweet by and by,” but are “More Than Conquerors” right here in the “down and dirty now and now,” are not paralyzed by sudden spiritual storms, but instead, realize that they are: prepared for them, protected through them, and perfected by them. They allow their rainstorm to become His “reign-storm,” and their problem to become His pathway (Matthew 14:22-33; 1 Peter 1:3-9; James 1:2-3).
Another reason we must not be like the tin man is because he didn’t know that the heart he so desperately sought to possess was already within him. Occasionally it can be difficult to discern if we have one like Jesus desires for us to have (James 3:13-4:12). Just look at how we often treat one another – particularly those who hurt us. And yet God loves them from the depths of His heart just as He does us. Can we love them that same way? Absolutely; but only because He has so very graciously given us the power and ability to do so if we’d only choose to acknowledge and utilize it; if we, unlike the tin man, understood that we possess that power within our hearts even now if we are faithful Christians and children of the living God. Consider: the same spirit that enabled Jesus at the cross to say “Father, please forgive them…” resides where now? In you – if you’re a Christian (Acts 2:38; Romans 8:9-11). And if He resides in you, you must allow Him to lead you in order to be pleasing to God and God-like to men (see Romans 8:12-14 and 1 John 4:17).
God also doesn’t want you to be like the cowardly lion. He spent his days in fear, petrified at every “bump in the night” and afraid of every shadow that silently slithered by. It wasn’t that he lacked the courage or power to deal with and defeat his life’s problems; it was just that he was simply and sadly, completely unaware that he even possessed such powerful abilities.
Jesus does not want you to be discouraged, disheartened, or afraid of anything Satan did, does, or might attempt to do to you. Just look at what Jesus Himself said the very night before His own betrayal and subsequent crucifixion and separation from God His Father, at the hands of sinners: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). He also said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Oh how these eternal encouragements from our one Lord and only Savior Jesus Christ echo the divinely-inspired words of the Godly prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 26:3 (which see).
The courage to face each new day, despite whatever your circumstances (and let’s face it folks, Romans 8:35-39 contains a pretty comprehensive list wherein I’m sure that all of our own “unique” problems can certainly be placed under one heading or another) comes from understanding that the victory “in all these things” is undeniably, irreversibly, and absolutely guaranteed by God Himself; that you are more than conqueror in them all right now through Jesus Christ. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). It’s a win-win, no-lose situation where and when we understand that God is in complete control. He doesn’t know how to lose because He’s never been defeated and never will be (Acts 4:23-31)! Paul understood this win-win, no-lose situation when walking with God when he reported: “…for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lords” (Romans 14:8). When exactly are we going to get this?
And lastly, don’t be a Dorothy. She could easily have been destroyed on her journey home, simply because she failed to comprehend the power already at her disposal and within her grasp during the trip. She should have begun to get a clue when the wicked witch had to actually ask her for the slippers as opposed to just simply taking them off of and away from her. And we must understand that Satan cannot take away from us that which matters most; it can only be lost through our ignorant or impetuous surrender or swapping thereof. Although she did finally make it home, many Christians today tragically do not. They die needlessly along the tempestuous trail, victory intact, but completely untapped. And Satan laughs gleefully… in the face of the grace of almighty God, as the following so ominously illustrates:
“An old vulture sits atop a dead tree whose roots cling uncertainly to the rocky soil at the upper rim of the canyon. The human eye can detect no sign of life in the dry valley far below, but the bird slowly and languidly pushes away from his branch and launches himself into the atmosphere. All is quiet except for the wind’s whisper and the quiet and solemn “coo” of a mourning dove. As the sun slowly rises towards its zenith, a dark speck in the sky looms larger, and larger, and more familiar. It is our friend, the vulture, who, with lazy ease, is floating home. The reason for his excursion, unseen by us, lies on the dry canyon floor; a lamb’s last remains, from one separated from the flock and the shepherd’s staff, and eaten by wolves. He preens himself and flaps his wings in contentment, and once again, turns to survey the canyon below. ‘Be sober, be watchful; your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour’” (1 Peter 5:8). ~Carson Stephens
So tell that wicked witch to take a flying hike in the other direction in the name of your victory giving Jesus! And you know what? He has NO CHOICE but to do so (James 4:7). God has promised you right there in His all-authoritative and inerrant Word, in Romans, chapter eight, that you can overwhelmingly conquer right now, in all these awful things – which obviously won’t be in heaven but exist only here on earth – through Him who loves you (present tense, not future). Now that’s an “intact fact for when you’re attacked,” present-tense and Providential promise brethren! Now that’s what Romans eight says, and it’s “in-tense!”