Sometimes it’s striking how exacting the words of God can be.
After a week of snow days, the routine is largely back to normal here at the Phillips household. Carson’s grad school winter break ended over the weekend, and the two inches of ice on the driveway that were keeping my car imprisoned in the garage have finally melted—though not without some effort on our part.
As a result, lots of things are going back on autopilot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; like I shared last week, I derive a lot of comfort (and even growth) in the “normal.”
Part of my Monday routine is a weekly pilgrimage to everyone’s favorite den of chaos and flickering fluorescents: WalMart. My neighborhood location was particularly crowded this week, as everyone in the vicinity was finally able to emerge from our frost-covered caves to get essentials like coffee creamer and fresh bread.
The weekly grocery trip isn’t necessarily the highlight of my Monday, but I don’t dread it, either—it’s just one of those tasks that has to get done so that our household can function properly. On the occasions that Carson can’t go with me, I take advantage of the time alone to listen to podcasts while I drive and get generally lost in thought while wandering the various holiday-themed aisles.
So, that’s pretty much what I did. Only, there’s something else you need to know about me: I’m a worrier. And, not to brag, but I’m really good at it. If worrying were a sport, I would be battling Michael Phelps for winningest American Olympian.
And so, somewhere between the frozen fruit aisle and the still-icy parking lot, my train of thought switched tracks and jumped on the rollercoaster of worry, spiraling over the very things that I have tried to surrender to God in prayer time and time again.
I stopped at the traffic light that would let me out into the highway, watching a seemingly endless stream of cars fly by, rehearsing my concerns to myself and trying to convince myself that God had heard my prayers and would answer with faithfulness…and that’s when it happened.
“...for I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in the Messiah Jesus our Lord…”
Is it cliche to say these words struck me like a voice from heaven? Because that’s really the best way I can describe the moment.
Here I am, consumed by a list of worries that, though the contents may change, never seems to dissipate, when all of a sudden I’m pulled out of my spiral to instead focus on one of the most eloquent expositions of God’s perfect love that scripture has to offer.
The source itself wasn’t an unlikely one—it came from the episode of the BibleProject I was listening to that day, which explored the theme of chaos and “decreation” through Paul’s letters. But, in that moment, the intricacies of the conversation weren’t what mattered the most; it was the simple reminder of truth through scripture that broke through my own personal chaos and offered me genuine comfort…if only for a moment.
Here’s the excerpt in full:
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:31-39
3 quick notes on this passage, from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible:
1. “He that has prepared a crown and a kingdom for us, will give us what we need in the way to it.”
This note of commentary sheds light on verse 32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Henry’s commentary contextualizes this verse within the larger message of the passage, reminding readers that God’s gifts are not without specific purpose.
God is a good and generous Father who seeks to give his children the fullness of his riches, and the greatest gift of all—reconciliation with him. You can have full confidence that he is always preparing you to face the challenges of this life as you strive for the glory of the next.
2. “Believer! does your soul say within you, Oh that he were mine! and oh that I were his; that I could please him and live to him! Then do not toss your spirit and perplex your thoughts in fruitless, endless doubtings, but as you are convinced of ungodliness, believe on Him who justifies the ungodly. You are condemned, yet Christ is dead and risen. Flee to Him as such.”
The simple fact of Christ’s death and resurrection allows us to put our strivings toward right-standing to rest. Your responsibility, as one who has been made aware of your sin (or, your condition of falling short of God’s standard), is to respond in faith to God’s calling by way of accepting Christ’s sacrifice.
In the evangelical world, we tend to think of this response as a one-time thing that happens at the “moment of salvation,” but I’d argue that there’s a daily (if not hourly, some days) necessity to “flee to Christ,” casting aside doubt and despair in the face of the “author and perfector of [y]our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
3. “None can take Christ from the believer: none can take the believer from Him; and that is enough. All other hazards signify nothing.”
And here we find the crux of Paul’s argument: that, simply, the love of God cannot and will not be overcome. Henry continues here to say,
“Alas, poor sinners! though you abound with the possessions of this world, what vain things are they! Can you say of any of them, Who shall separate us? You may be removed from pleasant dwellings, and friends, and estates. … But the soul that is in Christ, when other things are pulled away, cleaves to Christ, and these separations pain him not.”
I don’t think Henry means to literally say that the “separations” we face in this life are truly without pain—anyone who has gone through a substantial life change can attest to the grief that often tags along. Rather, I think his point is to emphasize how small even the most impactful events of life seem in comparison to the all-encompassing love that God invites us to share.
I will be the first to say that this isn’t always easy to put into practice; as much as I wish I could say that moment of clarity on the way home from WalMart has continued to cut through my worries all week, that’s just not quite true. But, it did provide solid truth to grab onto like a root at the edge of a swift river, keeping me from being totally swept away by the cares of this world.
I hope you find continued encouragement in these words as I did earlier this week. Engage your faith and create opportunities to be reminded of God’s truth in the coming days, whether that’s by reading scripture, listening to worship music, or letting a podcast roll while you unload the dishwasher. I’m positive you’ll be blessed by it!
Now, LMK:
How do you make space for interruptions in your day-to-day life? Let me know in the comments!