“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution...No, in all these things we are conquerors…” Romans 8:35,37a

A friend of mine told me once that as soon as the car reaches 61 miles per hour, the angels fly off. Funny to think about, but have you ever wondered if God has taken His hand away from your life? Troubles...everyone has them from time to time. Sometimes they are things that happen to us, and sometimes they are things that happen to those we are close too. Troubles are exhausting. They do not just take your energy, but can cause a person to trade joy for despair, and even push one to question God’s very character and nature.

Paul talks about the things that might seem likely to separate a believer from the love of God. However, the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and His child. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. Nevertheless, none of these things is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a believer on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Christ; a love that is a free gift that cannot be earned. Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we are more than conquerors.” We are champions whose joy comes from experiencing the very things, which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

For example, huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. How can this apply that to our own circumstances? The things we try to avoid and fight against—adversity, pain, suffering, and persecution—can be the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things” not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A believer does not know the joy of the Lord in spite of trouble, but because of it. Paul said, “I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” (2 Cor. 7:4).

The abundant overflow of joy in a person’s life is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. Moreover, the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Thanks for reading!