Romans 8:35 Meditation
Text (Ro 8:35, NIV):
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
Amplified Rendering:
Who, then, can separate us from or render "null and void" Christ's all surpassing, everlasting love for us? Or bar us from the never-ending love-feast of God Almighty?
Shall Trouble? Affliction or distress?
No.
Nothing overwhelms Jesus. He will be with you during such times(1). He Himself will help you plod through them and use such things to not just benefit you, but glorify him, benefit His kingdom, and benefit everyone around you. Face the moment, keep your wits about you, and don't lose your heart. Know this: The glory awaiting you will surpass whatever temporal pain you might be feeling in the moment(2). And this is not just for the life to come, but for this one, too!
Hardship? A narrow, confining space of great difficulty?
No.
There's nowhere God cannot go or in which He cannot fit. Nowhere He cannot move in and through freely, lovingly, powerfully, and redemptively on your behalf. Nowhere you can go that God cannot(3).
Persecution? The on-going hunt to bring you down (like an animal) so as to suppress your convictions?
No.
God's been there, so He knows EXACTLY what it feels like(4). Know this: He'll be with you through it all. In fact, and as difficult as it might be to read, God honors you by allowing you to shoulder with Him some of His sufferings(5). If God hasn't suffered through it, neither will you. In fact, God will never ask you to suffer through anything He hasn't suffered or is not currently suffering. Oh, and speaking of being hunted down like an animal, did you know God's lovingkindness stalks you day and night like a predator? And that He'll pursue you unrelentingly every day for the rest of your life(6)?
Famine? Not just the feelings of hunger, but the distressing lack of adequate food and nutrition?
No.
Because of His great love for you, His provision will find you(7). It really is amazing how much we need the Words of God to truly live(8). It's amazing, too, the difference they make when current physical conditions are seemingly unbearable.
Nakedness? Exposure?
No.
God is your refuge, your fortress, and your strong tower(9). Trust in Him, and He'll cover you with His feathers. Indeed, His faithfulness will be your ever-present shield and rampart(10).
Danger? Peril or risk?
No.
As a follower of Christ, you are already dead and raised(11). Have no fear of death, for death has been swallowed-up in sweet victory.
Sword? A small, edge weapon used by assassins to exterminate people in the way?
No.
Ultimately, nothing can harm or hurt you(12). Though you be led away to a martyr's death, Jesus, the Lamb slain before the foundations of the earth, will be with you(13). Though dismembered, you will always be (and never cease to exist), because you are from eternity to eternity and God's love for you is from eternity to eternity(14). It, like His Word, never ends, passes away, or looses potency or efficacy.
Consecrated Prayer:
Holy Father…
In light of the above, there's not much I can say except, "Thank You!" Thank You for loving me, for being with me, and for helping me through everything that comes my way. You are Perfect Love(14). Use whatever I suffer through to reproduce You in me. If the result of my enduring perfect suffering is my being transformed into perfect love, then my prayer is this: I am Your slave, O God. Let whatever You've decreed be done for, in, and through me(15).
In the Name of Jesus, I declare and pray these these things...
Amen.
Notes
See Mt 28:20.
See Ro 8:18.
See Ps 139.
See He 4:14-16.
See Ph 3:10-11.
See Ps 23:6.
See Ph 4:19.
See Dt 8:3 and Mt 4:4.
See Ps 46:1 and Pr 18:10
See Ps 91:4.
See Co 2:12 and 3:1.
See 1Co 15:54.
See Ps 91.
See Mt 28:20 and Re 13:8.
See Ps 103:17.
See 1Jn 4:7-21.
See Lk 1:38 and Ja 1:2-4.
