Sometimes, in life, our circumstances seem to be overwhelming. It may feel as if no one cares and no one can help you. You feel forsaken by friends and family, those whom you think love you more than anyone. It can be a lonely, desolate place. It can bring a feeling of hopelessness and despair. However, if you are a Christian, there is one who will never forsake you, and that is Jesus.
In Romans 8:35-39, Paul closes out this glorious chapter on the privileges of believers with this encouraging fact that nothing can separate us from His love. He loves those who have chosen to serve Him and those who are His enemies. He loves the whole world. This kind of love passes our realm of thinking. It passes all familiar knowledge; it’s hard to understand, but we must accept it by faith.
This kind of love is a great comfort to those who are His, those who have accepted His Son as their Savior. When tribulation comes, when trials or persecution plague us, we have comfort in knowing that God will be with us then and throughout eternity. We are never forsaken by Him.
Romans 8:35-37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In verse 38, Paul affirms His confidence in the awesome love of God. He begins a long list of things that will not affect God’s love for us. The affirmation of His awesome love is evidence He will not forsake us. His love is always there. Though we will suffer for Christ, we are not forsaken. In I Peter 4:13, Peter reminds us of Christ’s suffering for us. Jesus’ suffering resulted from His and God the Father’s love for us. When we suffer, He is with us, and it identifies us with Him. This glory will be revealed when we stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” enter into Heaven. Earlier in Romans 8:18, Paul compares the suffering here to the glory that we will be revealed to us in Heaven. His determination is that there is no comparison.
II Corinthians 1:5 “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”
I Peter 4:13 “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
In Psalm 9:10, those who know the Lord are assured that He will not forsake them. It is easy for us to take our eyes off God and the truth of the scriptures when things are going bad. We are sinful people prone to live by how we feel. Often, we allow how our flesh feels to dictate what we believe rather than allowing our faith in God and the truth of His word to determine what we believe. It is one thing to believe something in our head and another to believe it in both head and heart. It is the one who puts their trust in Him that experiences the deep-seated knowledge that they are not forsaken. When you live your life putting all your trust in God, knowing His Word, and trusting His Word, you will not face tragedies feeling hopeless. There will be confidence that He is in control and He has not forsaken you. Though tragedies hurt deeply at times, though physical pain may seem unbearable, you will not feel hopeless because God is there with you.
Psalm 9:10 “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
Many Christians will suffer more than most of us can imagine. Paul states it well in II Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;” Dig deep into God’s word while you are not under persecution or distress. Now is the time to strengthen yourself so you don’t begin to doubt God or feel forsaken in the future. If you are feeling that way now, understand that those feelings of being forsaken are not of God; they are from the enemy, Satan. He will attack you greatly when you are hurting emotionally or physically. Cling to the truth that God is there, and you are not forsaken!
II Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”
