Have you ever been truly lost? So much so that you don’t know how to find your way back. The moment you realize you are lost, you are flooded with anxiety and panic. Today, this idea might be a foreign concept, but there was a time when pulling your phone out and opening maps was not an option.
If you ever found yourself lost, often your best bet was to find a local person you could trust. Sometimes this was at a gas station or maybe a store clerk in the mall. If you were fortunate, you might find a local first responder who could steer you in the right direction. Whatever options you chose, most of them involved asking other people for help finding your way.
I remember times as a child going to a store or the mall with my parents. They would typically want to look at things I had no interest in. Unless I brought a GameBoy, I would be bored to tears in minutes. So what is a young boy to do? Go to the toys, magazines, or electronics to browse video games!
Hyper-focused
I have this strange ability to hone in on something so much that time passes me by without knowing about it. Suddenly, I look up, and hours can fly by like seconds. When I was a kid, this would often happen in situations like shopping in the store or a mall. I am suddenly lost when I look up to realize how much time has passed.
Thinking my parents would still be in the same place as when I left their side, I would return to that department. Remember that I didn’t have a cell phone, nor did they. So I would comb the store looking for any trace that they were there or nearby. When they were nowhere to be found, panic would set in.
Sometimes in life, I mistakingly believe God works in this same way. I get hyper-focused on my wants, needs, or desires and lose track of God. When I finally look up from my little bubble, God is seemingly nowhere to be found. Panic sets in, and I overexert myself trying to find any sign he might be nearby.
Gut-Wrenching
Have you ever experienced this panic that settles down deep in your stomach? This feeling that you have lost something or someone? Has fear crept in because you sense you will never find that thing or person again? You are lost, or that thing you treasure is gone forever.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)
Nothing
One of the Biblical lessons found in Romans 8:38-39 that I sometimes struggle with is the concept that nothing can separate me from God’s love. NOTHING. This concept is unlike anything in our world—something, specifically someone, that cannot be lost or separated from me. I can do nothing to mess this up. Can you believe this?
‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Loss
If you have ever struggled with fear or anxiety, you might have dealt with loss in some form. Loss of a loved one, an opportunity, or a job. Whatever that looks like for you, the pain is real. The first time someone experiences loss, it forever changes them.
The person might vow never to let this happen to them again. The reality is that in this world, we will experience trials, including loss. John 16:33 NLT says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Loss is a reality of our broken world.
For me, this is one reason that Romans 8:38-39 is so tough. I know what losing someone or something I hold dear is like. I have experienced what it is like to be separated from someone. Regardless of our experiences, the Bible reassures us of many things. Let us examine God’s promises and why we should have hope.
1. God Is With Us
One of the many challenges associated with fear or anxiety is feeling like you are facing it alone. Whether you are scared of what others might think or do not want to be a burden, the power of fear is often held in people remaining in isolation from others. Anxiety is known to cause people to withdraw to find safety or to protect themselves. One reminder in Deuteronomy 31:6 that many of us need is that God is always with us and will never leave us.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
2. Victory is ours through Christ Jesus
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 NLT
3. The Good News
The Good News or Gospel Christians celebrate during Holy Week, and Easter is that God loved us so much that he sent his only son, Jesus, to die for our sins and be raised again. Please read it for yourself. 👇
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
There is so much to unpack within the Gospel itself, but I want to focus on what Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection mean practically for those struggling with anxiety.
God sent his son Jesus to die so:
- We could be saved from the penalty of our sins.
- We can know God personally.
- We would have freedom in Christ.
- We could be made whole.
- The Holy Spirit would come and dwell in our hearts.
4. God is for us.
I feel like far too often, followers of Jesus mistakingly believe God is against them somehow. This could not be further from the truth. Christians often look at their circumstances and ask, “How could a loving God allow this to happen?” Many, including myself, sometimes allow the pain of our circumstances to keep us from asking the right questions. The question we should be asking is, “What does God want to accomplish through this?”
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 8:31 NLT
5. Trials don’t mean God doesn’t love us.
Instead of allowing the pain of our circumstances to cloud our view of the goodness of God, we must return to scripture to remind us of the truth. We can begin by looking at John 16:33 and Romans 8:35-36 for starters. Remember, valleys in our lives allow God’s love and power to shine the brightest. If you are going through a valley, get honest with God, ask questions, and dig into the Bible.
Note: I am not saying that digging into the Bible will make all your troubles suddenly disappear.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NLT
“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? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)”
Romans 8:35-36 NLT
6. Jesus is pleading for us.
“Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”
Romans 8:34 NLT
7. God gave up everything for us.
Have you ever been so down on yourself or your situation that you believe God’s goodness and promises are for everyone else? It is easy to get so covered in darkness that it feels like God has forgotten you. I’m not here to tell you you cannot have those feelings. I encourage you to read Paul’s account of his trials in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NIV.
“Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NIV
Paul had every reason to doubt God, but instead, he wrote Romans 8:38-39.
‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Romans 8:38-39
Earlier in Romans 8:32-33, Paul wrote, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.”
My friend, God has chosen you for his own! He gave up his son Jesus so you could know him personally. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be made whole, set free, and call on the Holy Spirit within us.
Maybe it is time to call on the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER:
Holy Spirit, please fill me with your peace, joy, hope, and love. Fill me so full that it overflows everywhere around me. Please fill me with peace that makes no sense so that others want to know why. Fill me with joy so others know something is up with this person and ask, “Why?” Please fill me with so much hope that it pours into my life and those around me. And most importantly, fill me with your love so others can see YOU in me and know I am different because of YOU. All of this filling so that others may come to know Jesus.
-Amen.
