It was Monday morning, the weight of a new week resting on our shoulders. Gathered around the table, we waited in anticipation for our morning devotion from our team leader to begin.

“There is nothing more real that I feel in this moment than the confession that I am a sinner in need of a Savior.” 

Her weekend had been an ever-present battle between flesh and blood. Temptation and shortcomings overwhelmed her in such a way as to try and convince her that she was undeserving of God’s love, that she was too sinful to be called a child of God, let alone lead a ministry! Wallowing in weakness, she wrestled with feelings of discouragement and shame. The weight on our shoulders lifted as we all silently sat in agreement with the same conviction.

This is a familiar place for all of us. There are times, especially in ministry, where feelings of inadequacy or failure overwhelm us. If we sit in this space too long, we allow our struggles to distort and disrupt our faith. We convince ourselves we cannot or should not be used by God, but our God is One who delivers His children from this place of despair into a place of dependency. God’s faithfulness is not contingent on our faithfulness. We will fall, and we will fail, but God is faithful. So when we find ourselves discouraged, we must remember God is in the business of working His will in and through people like me and you. 

Replacing her discouragement with assurance, our leader guided us to Romans 8:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV).

In the previous chapter, Paul reveals in full transparency the tension he feels between his sinful flesh and his sanctified calling. So often we as believers build for ourselves a false expectation to be perfect. We fool ourselves into thinking that any form of struggling or suffering is proof that we are “unworthy” or “too far gone,” but really this suffering allows us to draw nearer to God and see His will and work be done. Seasons of struggling are no reason to be overcome, but rather opportunities for God’s work and will to be done. 

In chapter 7, Paul wrestles with the tension between flesh and Spirit, sitting in the same state of despair and discouragement that we can find ourselves in. We cannot overcome our sin by ourselves, for it wages war within us. Thus, when we look to ourselves to overcome our situations, we are destined to fail because victory in Christ is not found through our personal power. Instead, we approach God in desperation for deliverance because only Jesus can deliver us from sin and sanctify us from within to do His good work.

Let us learn from the shift of Paul’s perspective in Romans 7:24-25. Paul shifts his faith from his own strength in himself to strength and salvation in God. By the power of Jesus, we are saved, sanctified, and sent as servants to proclaim the name of God and participate in His will. When we fix our focus on God, our suffering becomes an invitation for God to work His will rather than a setback that causes us to fall into despair. 

If we are honest with ourselves, we have days where we feel we do not deserve the love and life of Christ. But it is exactly in those days where God invites us into the truth of Romans 8 because “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). Because of Jesus, we are no longer condemned by our sin. We are no longer slaves to our desires. We no longer surrender to suffering but are set free by the blood of Jesus Christ, who came and condemned sin in the flesh so that those who walk in Spirit may receive life.  

We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Therefore, our dependence on Him and His saving grace never ceases. Let us be first to come to the altar in surrender as broken believers in need of a Savior. In our fears, failures, and frustrations, let us surrender our situations to our Savior whose power is made perfect in our weakness.

Whomever you may lead—whether it is a church, a family, a classroom, a team—be the first to follow the example of Christ and submit your will to the Father, revealing your need for God by inviting God to work in your weaknesses. God never said we needed to have it all together, because our strength does not come from our own power but the power of the Holy Spirit within who transforms and sanctifies our souls. Let God work in your weakness and take the weight of sin off your shoulders, for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.