August 17 Prayer (Romans 5:1 Devotional)

Have you ever plugged in your phone before you went to sleep and woke up only to find out it was never fully plugged in. (I know I can’t be the only one!)

We know that the cord must be fully plugged in and if not, the electricity won’t be able to charge the battery. And the electricity can’t just appear in some sort of cloud or puddle and charge our phones, it needs to be probably insulated, protected, and directed for the electricity to flow through the wire and charge our phone. Stay with me on this because I think this example explains our verse today quite well.

Looking back on today’s verse in Romans 5:1. We see the reminder that have been justified through faith and we have peace with our God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But before I connect all the dots for how our cell phone charger illustrates this verse, I want to draw your attention to the Greek words for justified and peace, as I think that understanding word origin will bring greater clarity. 

The word justified comes from the word, dikaioó, which means “to be shown to be righteous” and approved.

The word, peace comes from the word, eiréné, from eirō, “to join, tie together into a whole“) – properly, wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God’s gift of wholeness).

Jesus doesn’t just vouch for us, but we are made righteous through Him. He is the wire, the conduit of the electricity in which the full power (the Spirit of God) is accessible to us. Therefore, our faith acts as the insulator, the protector of our relationship with God through Jesus. And that peace, that we assume refers to rest or an absence of problems, in this context is actually referring to the wholeness and fullness of God. 

And do you know what happens once the cord is properly plugged in? The battery will be able to charge by transferring the electricity from the wall through the cord and into your phone. All the pieces and parts are there, they need to be completely connected in order to work properly.

So, my friends, go today knowing that the peace that we all desire, that missing link, the gratification of being “fully plugged in” is available to us through Jesus. We have the fullness of God through our faith. This is the peace that happens when the final part of plug is plugged into the wall, and the reassurance that allows us to continue to move forward in faith.