Overwhelming Victory
When Paul penned one of the most beloved promises of all time found at the end of Romans 8, he added a statement that to us, seems out of place.
The promise begins in Romans 8:31:
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ( Romans 8:31, NLT)
It then expands on this giving a wonderful assurance of God being on our side.
Then, it changes gears with this question:
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ( Romans 8:35, NLT)
This doesn’t sound particularly hopeful. But it continues down this same path:
(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) (Romans 8:36, NLT – quoting Psalm 44:22)
For those of us who have lived our whole life here in the United States, we have a hard time relating to these thoughts. We have certainly been down, but most of us have not even come close to what Paul is describing here.
But, for the Christians in Rome, who Paul was writing this letter to, this was a present reality. They were living the life Paul was here describing! The natural questions they would have been asking are: Does God really love us? Does this mean God has abandoned us?
Paul was trying to lift their eyes to the eternal reality that God will win in the end. And He will take us with Him!
Paul goes on:
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39, NLT)
Hard things are a part of life here on earth and God will love us right through them. His love is unconditional and eternal. This means that if you or I do not choose to stay with Him and are lost, there will be a hole in His heart forever.
I believe that Someone who loves me this much is safe to trust. How about you?