“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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 8:38-39 ESV
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16 ESV
Early in my christian journey I was a bit of a runner. Not a runner in the sense of exercise, but in the sense of, “get me out of here, I don’t like this situation.” I remember packing up my little Chevette and heading to Ontario just to get away from a situation that I felt overwhelmed with. During that time period, I somehow did not fully grasp that God’s love was tangible and real in every place. There was no need to run for the situation that was causing me anxiety was already known to God.
It has been many years since those days of running and God has truly shifted my heart. He has taken me from being someone who would run away to being someone who has learned the value and richness of being planted. As my heart has shifted, so has my mindset. You see, what is the need of running when every detail of my life has been known to God since before I was ever born. The things I get so anxious over and may want to leave behind could very well be the things God wants to use to help me fully grasp a love that I cannot be separated from. A love that is true, and uncontainable.
This love knows me by name, knows my insecurities, my fears, and my need for solitude. This love does not hide from me when I feel anxious or troubled, uncertain or overwhelmed. He stands true to all that He is … reliable, dependable, and unstoppable. He was not surprised by my nature to run, but lovingly found me in all of my attempts and reminded me that all of my days were already taken care of. So, why not just lean hard on the One whose love never ran dry and who did not miss a detail of my life.
Today I am grateful that in the present moments of uncertainty I can know that I will ever be separated from a love that is True. I am thankful that He is a God of detail, so I do not have worry because He already has me covered.
Comments(3)
Susan Craig says:
March 3, 2015 at 3:47 amRomans Chapter 8 is one of my favorite passages in scripture-there are so many wonderful truths in this chapter-It starts with no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and ends with no separation from His love. Two very essential truths to ground us and help us be victorious in our christian walk.When our enemy starts accusing us we can stand on these verses-God does not condemn us and nothing our enemy does can ever separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. Jesus defeated the enemy of our souls and he has no more power over us as we read in yesterdays verses. Living a life of victory needs to be based on believing in the finished work of salvation that Jesus paid for on the cross for all those who believe and trust in Him. Our trust is not misplaced when it is on Him-He who loves us, is reliable and worthy of our trust. He will not let us down or leave us alone to fight our enemy. We can count on Him.
When I was in college, I learned about stress reactions. When we are feeling stressed, we have three choices-we can run away from it (Flight) or we can battle our way through it(Fight)or we can just be still and wait it out. (SitTight) Life can be very stressful at times and even christians are not immune to it. Some people are natural fighters-when they feel threatened in any way,they immediately become aggressive and attack. Some people are natural avoiders-when they feel threatened they retreat/run away/hide. These are two extremes and do not usually help the problem-sometimes they even make the problem worse. The Lord would prefer us take the ‘stop and wait’ approach -pray about it before we react to it. It is in these moments that bible verses like these can help us immensely. Our enemy loves to lie and tell us half truths. We are not unaware of his methods-but we must always remember that he has no power over us anymore-Jesus has defeated him and he has no hope/no power/no future/nothing to say or do that will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This promise is one we can stand on that will give us assurance of victory. God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to us-to die for us-to pay the penalty for all our sins-past,present and future. God not only loves us but He also made us-he knows everything about us-even the hair on our head are numbered. To know us better than we even know ourselves is amazing and it reminds me that He cares so much about us that He will not allow the enemy to defeat us. God is more powerful than satan and his demons-more powerful than the worldly powers that exist-more powerful than the atomic bomb even. So should we run away in fear from satan’s attacks-no way!! We pray and ask Jesus to fight the battle for us-and to give us the strength to stand firm in His truth which reveals satan’s lies for what they are. Stand on the promises of God!! That is what will win the battles. Stay planted and fear not!!
Pat McRae says:
March 3, 2015 at 3:40 pmThank you Pastor Freda for knitting two Scriptures together about a love we can never fully understand. Once again God works in mysterious ways! Sister Clarke said at early morning prayer that the focus this week would be God’s amazing love! Then I come home and read these wonderful verses about love. As I looked at how I love I realize I have a long way to go, before the Love of the Lord is shed abroad by me. Unconditional love is hard for me to fathom because my love seems to have a few conditions. I think I walk in love but then someone says or does something that upsets my self-centred self, love seems to vaporize. The words are so easy to say, and we are even told to tell someone “I love you!” But do I really love or is it more “I really like you but don’t do anything I don’t like or that just might change.” Can I say I really love, unconditionally, the young lady standing on the corner selling her body for a few dollars. Or that man so willing to use her for just a few dollars. What about that family member that mistreats one of my children, do I love them? To be honest I have trouble even liking them when I know what is going on. Love requires sacrifice. Am I willing to pay the price that love might require? Would I give up a few pleasures to meet someone else’s necessities? Would I walk into someone else’s pain and darkness to bring them some light? Can I really love, love unconditionally, the drunk, prostitute, the abuser, the drug addict or dealer? I might not be able to yet but I know someone Who does and He does it with no conditions. Just pure love, the love of a Father who formed us in our mother’s womb. Who took the time to make a life plan for us, a plan we mess up daily but He just readjusts it and continues to love. God has declared “It is love that draws men to Him”.
I am thankful that God’s love has always found me when I have wandered off the path. I am thankful God shows us what His love looks like in His Word so we can learn to love like He does. I am thankful God just taught me recently that I can not give what I do not own. If I have not or will not receive His love I can not love! He is happy that I am willing to love like He loves, and when I fail His love surrounds me, lifts me up and says ‘try again, don’t give up’. I am thankful for the times love is easy, and I am learning to appreciate the times it takes effort to love. It is at those times I realize how much I am loved by the Creator of the Universe. God’s love is tangible, it touches my heart with joy and thanksgiving. I am thankful there is no where I can go that God’s love isn’t already there waiting for me!
Sue Holmes says:
March 4, 2015 at 12:00 amIt has taken a good many years for today’s verses to start to take root in me. I say ‘start’ because they have a bit of distance to go yet. I grew up practicing the fine art of avoidance. For some reason, which I can’t define other than saying it was the influence of the enemy even at an early age, I lived most of my life not trusting love & never really feeling secure with it. Allowing myself to be vulnerable to others was not on my agenda. I was convinced I couldn’t truly be loved & would do my best to hope that no one else would find out.
All this time, believing that I was beyond the grasp of love, there was still a place deep inside that yearned to be loved & accepted. I am grateful that God is a God of immense patience. He has shown me both through my personal daily relationship with Him and through His body of believers that I have been knit together while still in the womb, He has my day worked out for me before my eyes are even opened & my Father loves me. He has shown me a love that transcends anything this world has to offer.