2017 40 Days of Prayer, Day 35
The Abiding Presence of God:
A Life of Complete Dependence
Day 35
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Romans 8:35
Who Will Separate Us?
Who can condemn us? No one can condemn us. No one can condemn us because of Christ. No one can condemn because of His work of justification, whereby the sinner is declared to be righteous in the eyes of God, even while still in our sinful state. This legal declaration is based on the work of Christ. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who have put their faith in Christ.
With today’s verse, Paul changes the conversation. He moves us from the rather technical, legal world of justification to the more personal world of the love of Christ. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? No one. God demonstrated His love by Christ dying on our behalf. He affirms His love for us through the abiding Holy Spirit. However, Christians are not exempt from trouble in this life. Sometimes, Christians are even subject to greater trouble in this life purely because of their faith. Consider all the ways that the world may attempt to separate us from His love. The world uses tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. However, none of these threats can undo the great work of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. It may look like separation. It may even feel like separation from Christ when we, even as the church, face such difficulties. However, the love of Christ overcomes any and all such trouble. There is nothing in this life than can separate us from Christ and His love. NOTHING! Paul bore a particularly personal testimony to this claim as all of the troubles listed in this verse happened to Paul. All of these troubles happened to him because he followed Christ. Paul made his claim to the inseparable love of Christ while living with unending suffering because of Christ. See II Corinthians 11:26-27 as an example of the types of suffering Paul endured because of his faith. The last item on this list, “sword,” was Paul’s final destiny, as he was martyred in Rome. Paul sent this letter to the church at Rome only to have his life ended by sword in the very city in which this church resided. The sword ended his life. However, the sword did not end the love of Christ for Paul, but in that moment, he experienced the fullness of the love of Christ as he had never experienced before. That is our destiny as well. He loves us even in our difficulties. He will bring us safely to Himself despite our difficulties. There will come a day when the troubles of this life will end and the fullness of the love of Christ will finally be realized.
Prayer Focus
Your love, Oh Lord, is glorious. I confess that the trials of this life sometimes cause me to lose sight of Your love. I confess that Your love is greater than all of my troubles. I long to share Your love with others. I want the world to know that nothing in this life can defeat Your love. I confess that the Gospel is the only means by which “nothing can separate us” from Christ. Make me an instrument to share this love with others. Make the church an instrument to share this love to the whole world. Be glorified in my life. We praise You God! Amen.
From DL Moody’s Secret Power
LOVE, PEACE, AND JOY
When a man who has been living in sin turns from his sins, and turns to God with all his heart, he is met on the threshold of the divine life by these sister graces. The love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit. The peace of God comes at the same time, and also the joy of the Lord. We can put the test to ourselves, if we have them. It is not anything that we can make. The great trouble with many is that they are trying to make these graces. They are trying to make love; they are trying to make peace; they are trying to make joy. But they are not creatures of human planting. To produce them of ourselves is impossible. That is an act of God. They come from above. It is God who speaks the word and gives the love; it is God who gives the peace; and we possess all by receiving Jesus Christ by faith into the heart; for when Christ comes by faith into the heart, then the Spirit is there, and if we have the Spirit, we will have the fruit. If the whole Church of God could live as the Lord would have them live, why Christianity would be the mightiest power this world has ever seen. It is the low standard of Christian life that is causing so much trouble. There are a great many stunted Christians in the Church; their lives are stunted; they are like a tree planted in poor soil - the soil is hard and stony, and the roots cannot find the rich loamy soil needed. Such believers have not grown in these sweet graces. Peter, in his second epistle, 1st chapter and 5th verse, writes: And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge self-control; and to self-control patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if we have these things in us, I believe that we will be constantly bringing forth fruit that will be acceptable to God. It won’t be just a little every now and then, when we spur ourselves up and work ourselves up into a certain state of mind or into an excited condition, and work a little while and then become cold, and discouraged, and disheartened. However, we shall be neither unfruitful nor barren, bringing forth fruit constantly, we will grow in grace and be filled with the Spirit of God.