"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"
Romans 8:35
This is a very good question. In one way it is rhetorical, because of course nothing can separate us from God's love if we seek it. As I was thinking about it today though, I think that all of these things have the ability to separate us from God, if we place those things before faith.
Bad things are going to happen to us in life. Bad things happened to all the prophets, and to Christ. We can't go on thinking that good behavior means no challenges in life... it just doesn't work that way. God allows and often gives us challenges *because* he loves us and he knows that we need to grow and learn and become stronger spiritually. So tribulation and distress and all of these things may come. I think the question is whether we will allow any of them to separate us from God. *He* isn't going anywhere, but often we choose to walk away from him. And when we do, we die inside, because that is what spiritual deal is... separation from God.
Today, let's take this verse to heart. Let's not allow anything to separate us from the love of God, especially ourselves. Let's get closer instead and seek the Lord in prayer and ask for his help. God will solve everything eventually if we have faith and stick with him, and keep working and trying. It definitely won't be on our timeline, and depending on what it is, it might not get solved in this life, but in the end, nothing that we suffer now will have any power to drag us down in eternity. God will make all of it right.
We don't have to give up, and we definitely shouldn't start hating God because life seems unbearable. Instead, let's plead with God for help to endure it well, and let's find another way forward, trusting that God will help us find some path to him, even if the darkest maze. He is the light, and is, and will always be, our way to hope and joy.
Romans 8:35
This is a very good question. In one way it is rhetorical, because of course nothing can separate us from God's love if we seek it. As I was thinking about it today though, I think that all of these things have the ability to separate us from God, if we place those things before faith.
Bad things are going to happen to us in life. Bad things happened to all the prophets, and to Christ. We can't go on thinking that good behavior means no challenges in life... it just doesn't work that way. God allows and often gives us challenges *because* he loves us and he knows that we need to grow and learn and become stronger spiritually. So tribulation and distress and all of these things may come. I think the question is whether we will allow any of them to separate us from God. *He* isn't going anywhere, but often we choose to walk away from him. And when we do, we die inside, because that is what spiritual deal is... separation from God.
Today, let's take this verse to heart. Let's not allow anything to separate us from the love of God, especially ourselves. Let's get closer instead and seek the Lord in prayer and ask for his help. God will solve everything eventually if we have faith and stick with him, and keep working and trying. It definitely won't be on our timeline, and depending on what it is, it might not get solved in this life, but in the end, nothing that we suffer now will have any power to drag us down in eternity. God will make all of it right.
We don't have to give up, and we definitely shouldn't start hating God because life seems unbearable. Instead, let's plead with God for help to endure it well, and let's find another way forward, trusting that God will help us find some path to him, even if the darkest maze. He is the light, and is, and will always be, our way to hope and joy.
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