HE Is Strong In Us

March 31

“Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble or persecution or problems or suffering or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword? No! I am certain that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor anything present, nor anything to come—no power—nothing above us, nothing below us, nothing in the whole of creation shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:35, 38, 39.

This passage of scripture is pervasive. Paul endeavors to consider every possible eventuality in time and every perceivable consequence for eternity and to weigh its influence over the believer as to the love Christ has for him. The conclusion the Apostle reaches is that there isn’t any influence of any negative factor in time or in perpetuity that can sever the bond of love that the Lord uses to hold believers fast.

We who name the name that is “above all names,” Philippians 2:9, may do so with the assurance that no matter how fearsome becomes the wrath of man against us, no matter how uncomfortably we may fit into a society that is becoming constantly more anti-Christian, no matter how negatively our prospects for temporal success may become because of the faith we profess, our risen Savior shall never allow us to be separated from His love.

The question to us must become, ‘How badly do we want the love of Christ?’ The paramount factor we must consider is, ‘How high a price are we willing to pay for God’s free gift?’ Romans 6:23. Yes, salvation is free, but there is often a price tag upon the actual living out of the redemption Jesus holds out to us.

May we be fortified in the inner man as we count the cost (see Luke 14: 26-33.) May we resolve when the days are free of persecution to stand strong when the evil days come. May we be steadfast, not in our own strength but in “the power of His might,” Ephesians 6:10. May we never falter, not because we are strong, but because HE is strong in us.