Nothing Can Separate You
“35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:35,37-39
When life is difficult, we may question God’s love and ask, “If God loves me, why would He let this happen?” Hard times can make us doubt, but the main message of Romans 8:39 assures us: no circumstance separates us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. God’s love remains constant, regardless of what we face. Instead of letting life’s troubles define God’s love, remember this unchangeable truth.
We can also remember that even Christ himself experienced hardship. Matthew 4:1-11, Christ is tempted by the devil while spending forty days and nights in the wilderness. In John 11, Christ experiences the death of a friend, Lazarus, and wept (John 11:35) because of the emotional pain He feels. John 19:1-25, Jesus is “flogged” (beaten) and mocked, ultimately dying on a cross.
In Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God Day by Day,” he writes:
If you allow the death of Jesus on the cross to forever settle any questions you might have about God’s love, you will approach difficult circumstances with confidence. Knowing that there will never be anything that could
separate you from God’s perfect love, you will watch to see how God expresses His love in each circumstance.
“You will watch to see how God expresses His love in each circumstance.” As children of God, having received forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice, we can know, not wonder, but know that God’s love will never leave us. We will never be “separated” from His never-ending love, no matter what this earthly life may bring us. Instead of allowing our circumstances to sway our perception of God’s love, we will respond to all of life by drawing nearer to Him. We will cling to the truth of His word, respond to the revelation of His word by praising His name, and commune with Him in prayer, because we are “sure” of His love for us.
Augustine leaves us with this incredible truth to which we can cling!
No one can separate the believer from God; not someone who threatens death, because he who believes in Christ shall live even if he dies, nor someone who offers earthly life, because Christ gives us eternal life.
Love you and mean it!
