“Nothing can separate us from the love of God – not even ourselves!” Graham Cooke
This morning was one of those “God is right here with me” mornings. The sun shone bright in the blue sky, cardinal song drifted through the open bedroom window, the scent of something cooking in the apartment below me (It smelled like pancakes. I woke up with my mouth watering!) snuck through the vent. It was the perfect Saturday morning wake up. A smile and praise were on my lips before my feet were out from under the covers.
Other mornings, like yesterday morning, I feel like God is far away. I wake up feeling a sense of dread, a level of hopelessness that I know doesn’t come from the Lord. I don’t feel His presence like I did this morning, and I have to force myself to focus on God and who He is rather than my own feelings. I have to remind myself of His promise to never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
King David understood more than most how quickly a person go can from feeling God’s presence one minute then feeling abandoned the next. He faced rejection and attempts against his life at the hands of Saul. Despite having been anointed by Samuel as the future king, he found himself hiding in caves, teaming up with the rejects of society, and running for his life.
Psalm 56, a song of praise to God, was written when David had been seized by the Philistines. He was being held captive by one of Israel’s greatest enemies, yet he sang “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (verse 4).
The Psalms are filled with David’s writings of God’s faithfulness despite seemingly hopeless circumstances.
Paul writes in Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate from the love of God. 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 the love of God. 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.”
The word for nothing in the book of Romans was the Greek word “meden,” meaning not even one. It conveys our absolute dependence on God and completely eradicates the interference of humanity or nature in God’s love for us. It highlights God’s divine authority. It is more than a negative. It is an absolute in God.
Graham Cooke said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even ourselves.
David sang of that truth in Psalms 32 and 51 after his sin with Bathsheba. He was on his face in repentance before God, essentially begging God to forgive him, to search his heart, and wash him clean. “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and You forgave the guilt of my sin…You are my hiding my place and you will protect me from trouble…” Psalm 32:5-7.
As long as we are on this earth, we will have trouble. Things will happen that are beyond our control. And, we will not reach perfection in Christ until we are with Him in glory. As much as we love the Lord, we will still wrestle with certain sin habits. But, nothing this world can throw at us, even the things we throw at ourselves, can cause God to leave us. His love for us is greater than anything we can imagine.
Those mornings like yesterday when I wake up feeling far from God, I choose to remember His promise to never leave me. And God is a promise keeping God. He is always with me, no matter what I have done or what has been done to me.
And He makes that promise to you, too. If you belong to Christ, whatever you may feel, He is right there beside you. Close your eyes. Picture his hand reaching out to you. See the smile on His face. He loves you and will never leave you.
