Thought for the Day - Wednesday 17 February

Thought for the day Wednesday February 17th 2021   Romans 8:35 (New Living Translation)   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?   I checked the reading for today around 6am and it was from the book of Proverbs about planning.  I took my dog for a walk and sat down at my computer at 11.30am with a whole lot of things to write about planning then found the daily reading had changed to something that didn’t have anything to do with planning – a blank canvas!!!  So much for planning!   It’s interesting that today’s verse involves the apostle Paul posing a question.  There are lots of questions doing the rounds at the moment e.g when will we be able to book a holiday, when will we be able to enjoy the company of friends and relatives, when will I get my Covid injection (I’m getting my first one today), when will churches reopen, when will the children get back to school, when will we be able to go to a restaurant?  I could go on, so many questions with most not having any immediate answer.   Fortunately, we don’t have long to wait before Paul does provide us with an answer to his question if we read on in the chapter to verses 37 and 38.  He writes: ‘No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.  Death can’t, and life can’t.  The angels can’t, and the demons can’t.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away.  Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord’.   It’s frustrating that so many questions we have, largely due to the impact the current pandemic is having on our lives, have no immediate answers, but God has never said we won’t have trials in this life.  What he guarantees is that He will love us during the difficult as well as the good times and that victory will ultimately be ours through our believing in Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.  Perhaps this was where the 16th century proverb ‘all things come to those who wait’ originated.   Prayer. Heavenly Father, Help us this day to realise that although we are facing difficult and unusual times at present, your love remains with us unconditionally.  Many of our ancestors have faced so much worse than what we are facing just now.  Help us to remember this and realise that difficult times in our lives will arise but they will also pass.  Help us also to remember that as Paul assures us, victory will eventually be ours through our faith in Christ Jesus.   Amen