Friday
Read: Romans 8:18–39
SOAP: Romans 8:38–39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Devotion
Lament, as we’ve learned, is a practice. It is a means of expressing our hearts to God in seasons of sorrow and loss. Often, these seasons can seem so long, so dark, or so heavy that we feel we may never make it through.
Paul’s words in Romans remind us that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from God’s love. Regardless of how we feel, His love never changes. He never changes. And when our circumstances are unpredictable, when we feel so lost in despair, He never changes and His love for us never fails.
The practice of lament includes expressing our trust in God. We can express this trust by simply repeating Scripture as we cling to what is true, rather than what we feel. Romans 8:38–39 records Paul’s own declaration of faith. He shares with his readers that he is convinced that nothing can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
At the time Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, he had experienced much hardship for the cause of Christ. Not only that, but Paul himself had persecuted Christians. He witnessed firsthand Stephen’s confidence in Christ, even in death (Acts 7:54–8:1). He personally experienced persecution from ruling authorities (Acts 9:23–25), conflict within the church (Acts 15), and imprisonment (Acts 16:16–40). When we remember Paul’s experiences we can see how true his claim is in verses 38–39. Nothing, not one thing he, nor anyone else, had experienced could separate him from the love of God.
Seasons of pain will come and go throughout our lives. When we arm ourselves with truth, we can proclaim our trust in God as we lament in these difficult seasons. Without trust, our lament is hopeless. Without believing that our God is for us, the pain can be debilitating. But when we are convinced that nothing can separate us from His love, our lament becomes praise. Our declarations of trust bring glory to God no matter how dark or desperate our circumstances are.