The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
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
What does it take to make you doubt God’s love for you? Financial difficulties, poor health, or job loss? A sick child, Alzheimer’s, or cancer? The death of a parent, spouse, or child?
In Romans 8:28, Paul declares that God makes all these things work for our good because He uses them to mold us into the image of His Son. But when we experience these things, it can feel as though God has forgotten us. Satan would have us believe that God withdraws His love from us in order to punish us. So we draw back from loving Him; we build walls against the hurt of rejection and betrayal.
But God never promised to keep us or our loved ones from trouble. He loves us with an everlasting love. We are never out of His thoughts. He has graven our names on His heart and His hand. In our trouble, God reveals Himself.
In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers said, “Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God’s character….Only one thing can account for it—the love of God in Christ Jesus.”
Father, may my love for You grow stronger in the trials, knowing that Your love never fails.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)