Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering: Nothing

 

For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 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 RSV

Nothing can separate us from the love of God:

Not Death: For absent from the body means I will be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

Not Life: There are many distractions and temptations in this life. But, in Christ, as we walk in the Holy Spirit, we will see them for what they are and be able to choose life with Him instead. (Galatians 5:16)

Not Angels: Ok, this one confused me a little. Why would angels want to separate us from God? But as I looked into it, according to Matthew Henry, this can refer to both “good angels” and “bad angels,” or demons. Remember, Satan and his army of demons were once angels and fell from heaven when they rebelled against God. And God’s Word says that we have power over them. (Luke 10:19)

Not Principalities: Have you ever wondered what a principality is? I did! According to Webster it is: “Sovereignty; supreme power. A prince; one invested with sovereignty.” So here we’re talking about royalty, or governmental authority. Many governments have set themselves up against God (think Communism), and yet have not prevailed. Even with their dictates and mandates, people continue to come to Christ, oftentimes even more than in countries where it is “safe” to do so. (Bible Analysis) (Romans 13:1)

Nor Things Present: Today can be hard. Today can be scary. Sometimes we look at what we’re facing and we can’t see a way through it. But I have good news, guess who made today? You’ve got it, God did! And if God made it just the way it is, you can bet that He did so for a really good reason. Today is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psalm 118:24)

Nor Things to Come: God knows the end from the beginning. Nothing surprises Him and nothing is out of His control. Nothing in our future can separate us from God because He has already preordained it to do quite the opposite – drawing us closer to Him. (Isaiah 46:10)

Nor Powers: This can take many forms: the power of the rich, power in numbers, or perhaps the power of armies. And yet, there is no power greater than our God, nothing can remove us from God’s hand. (John 10:28-29)

Nor Height: This could mean the height of prosperity or things from heaven above like storms. Either way, in Christ, we are secure. God give us good gifts, and those will never pull us away from Him or else they wouldn’t be good. And we have seen that Jesus is sovereign over storms. (Matthew 7:11, Matthew 8:27)

Nor Depth: Again, this has a dual meaning. The depths of despair and depression cannot remove us from God’s love because during those times God is even closer to us. And nothing on the earth is more powerful than God: not the oceans, not the mountains; for all were made by God and for God’s perfect plan. (Psalm 34:18, Colossians 1:16)

Nor Anything Else in all Creation: This was addressed by the previous verse. God made everything, and it was made for Him. None of it can stand against Him. (Colossians 1:16)

Here’s the Thing: It’s as if God, through Paul, set about to silence every argument before it could even be spoken. He hit every angle. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from God’s love. In Christ Jesus we are eternally secure.

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