At first glance of Romans 8:35-39, we deduce that nothing can keep us from the love of Christ. This we know, but we tend not to fully grasp what this means, nor do we allow ourselves to apply this reality to our own lives. We don’t trust that our actions really haven’t kept us from deserving God’s love. We don’t believe that we can’t do something to earn God’s love. We don’t fully grasp that there truly is nothing we can do to keep God from loving us.
To more completely understand the reality of what Paul is speaking about in Romans, we must dig into the concepts that we often think prevent God from loving us so we can more accurately quantify His truly incredible love.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquers through him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death no life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depths, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39
Trouble in Romans 8
No amount of problems, irritations or difficulties can keep God from loving us. Even when we’re the ones causing the trouble, He forgives us and loves us regardless. Whether our troubles are small inconveniences or major dilemmas, God overlooks them all and sees only our true heart. God chooses to separate the affliction from us so He can love us entirely, even when we blame ourselves for the disease or disaster placed upon us by Satan.
Hardship
When we’re facing misfortune, God draws us closer to Him. Even when we feel like the world is crashing down around us, God lifts us up out of the destruction. Our distress, suffering, anxiety and travails are all under the care and concern of our Lord.
Persecution
God gives us the strength to survive the oppression or ill treatment we experience in life. In fact, when we face situations that make us feel weak, our inadequacy helps us to rely on God. When we rely on Him, our weakness then becomes our strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 describes it this way: “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Even when we’re the one causing persecution, God’s love is still strong. Look at Paul. He persecuted and killed Christians. Then, God came to him, opened his eyes to the truth and as a result, Paul became one of the main promoters of Christianity. Our persecution does not keep us from God’s love, it may actually draw Him closer to us.
Famine
When we feel physically or emotionally desolate, the Lord does provide. Look at Joseph, he experienced a true famine of food shortage, but he was guided through several figurative famines in his life before the seven years without. The Lord utilized all these incidents to prepare him for the final famine that brought his family back to him. The Lord will use any and all scenarios to pull our life back to a place of goodness and wholeness. And, He will meet our every need along the way. In Him, we will survive and we will not starve.
Nakedness
When we think of nakedness in a Biblical term, we think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They sensed their nakedness for the first time when they betrayed God by eating the forbidden fruit. Even in this situation, when Adam and Even were covered in shame, the Lord was quick to forgive and guard them from further destruction. No matter what we do that causes feelings of shame or humiliation, God covers those sensations with His love and embraces us fully.
Danger
No amount of danger can keep us from God’s love. He is our ultimate protector. If our actions caused the danger, God will still be our safeguard. Satan may guide us into peril, but God will guide us out of it securely. We can rest assured in God’s love. His love is certain, dependable and reliable.
Sword
No amount of battle, war, fighting or discord can keep us from God’s love. He will be our guard and defense. Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the “Armor of God” which designates the sword being the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God. So, when we face a problem in our lives that causes us to have to fight for something, then we must pray to the Spirit for guidance and provision. He will give us what we need to overcome. When our battle is in communicating with others about the love of God, then His Word (through the Holy Spirit) will provide the wisdom and insight we need. Our defense is scripture, which is seeped in the love of God.
Romans 8 says we can overcome anything that comes our way
None of these can keep us from God’s love; we can overcome anything that comes our way, threatening to tear us from the hands of God. We will not only defeat these issues, we will be able to do more than conquer them. We will rise above and vanquish anything attempting to keep us from God’s love. He is victorious in all things; therefore we become victorious because we are His. He loves us through our struggles and His grace is sufficient.
