I have been encouraged by thinking about the wonderful truths found in Romans 8:14-16. First the solace of seeing I am a child of God, led by the very Spirit of God. Then the comfort in knowing I have received all I need to overcome fear in my life … the Spirit of adoption whereby I can call out to my Father God, “Abba” and know that He will provide through the power of His Spirit the courage and strength I need to overcome. [vs 14-15]
Then this morning, as I looked at that last verse [16] I saw that I have the testimony of not one, but two witnesses that I am God’s child.
“The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.” [Romans 8:16 HCSB]
When I was saved nearly five decades ago, my own spirit felt God’s grace come into my heart. I knew I was different than I had been. While I had always known about God, I had never truly experienced God. In that moment of surrender everything changed.
Of course, over the years as I traveled through difficult times and trying circumstances, or when I allowed the world to influence my thinking, there were moments of doubt. There were times when I doubted my ability to be a true follower of Christ Jesus. There were times of doubt when I wondered if God was aware of what was happening to me – or even cared!
It was when those times arose that the second witness, “The Spirit Himself,” spoke loudly and clearly, confirming the reality of my position as a child of God. He reminded me that my position was not based on my meager efforts to follow, was not based on what circumstances I was facing, nor was it based on what the world was telling me.
My position as a child of God was based on God’s adopting me into His family through the power of the Spirit, and nothing in me or in this world had the power to change that!
