Romans 8:35-39 • Handmade by God

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ” v. 35

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” vv. 37-38

Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword – none of these can separate me from the love of God. In fact, I am more than a conqueror – through Jesus – in all of those horrible experiences. MORE than a conqueror? What is more than a conqueror? A super conqueror. A conqueror with superpowers, completely and overwhelmingly victorious!

Kind of like a SUPERHERO!!!

Because of that, nothing can separate me from Jesus. Not death. Not life. Not angels. Not demons. Not the present or the future. (I love that the past is not even worth mentioning!!!!) Not any powers. Not height or depth. NOTHING in all of creation can separate me from Jesus.

So why am I in an almost constant state of panic and anxiety these days? Because I’m not putting on my superhero cape and accessing my superhero powers. It’s that plain and simple. It comes down to a choice. Am I going to go about my day in fear of panic overwhelming me? Am I going to wear myself out trying to stay ahead of it? Or am I going to take this promise to heart and claim my cape?

The day after reading and journaling my way through Romans 8:35-39, I knew I had not yet completely uncovered all that those verses have to say. I looked up all the Greek meanings for tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword. As I looked over everything I’d discovered, I realized that of all of these very frightening situations, I do not deal with ANY of them on a regular basis. In fact, other than hardship, I have not actually experienced any of them.

My ah-ha moment was when I realized that I am prone to feeling an unhealthy amount of empathy. So although I have not personally experienced tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, I experience them in my mind when I watch the news or an action-packed movie, listen to the experience of a friend or family member, or read the newspaper. It’s like everything I am hearing or seeing is happening to me.

I also am easily hijacked in my brain by something called catastrophic thinking. It’s very easy for me to take a situation and imagine all of the what-happens-next moments leading to a very dismal ending. (Get a grip, woman!)

This was the Lord showing me some triggers. It was square-one for me because prior to that, I felt like I was hovering aimlessly with no hope of finding where to land on the path to freedom from the grip of anxiety. Hope is a mighty thing. And this revelation about myself made me eager to continue the walk toward deliverance from my anxieties. It is not going to happen overnight. But I was more than ready to get going on the journey.

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4

Tag: Romans 8:35-39

SUPERHERO part I

SUPERHERO part II – Ah-ha!