Connected!

Connected!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:35 KJV

Context:

Paul writes to the church in Rome, and this chapter is all about my walk with Christ, the weight of what he has done, the weight of expectation from all who claim to follow Christ and the eternal value of all that is ahead. I am not called to a mundane or mediocre walk, or to one that is just good for the earthly phase alone, but to one with a personal and daily experience of God leading to eternal life with God. Have I truly met this God, or do I really need to go on that journey right away? 

I note: nowhere does God promise a smooth sail. The fact that I am on assignment for him does not preclude me from experiences that may seem unpalatable. In fact, it seems that tough times are God's recipes for bringing out his best in me. Pleasant experiences are very good, and it is easy to serve God when all your needs are met and you lack nothing. In fact, we can promise heaven and earth that we will serve God when he does a particular thing for us, yet when he does it, that thing could become a stumbling block to our effective service. How do I take all that life throws at me and never lose my connection with God? 

Message and Response:

Two related questions are asked in today's extract. I take stock of my life in the present: is there anything that can cause me to look away from the author of my salvation and look elsewhere? In the light of all the pain and pressure all around, am I tempted to try what the other side has to offer? Have I come to a point where like Isaiah, I can say that I have set my face like flint: refusing to be distracted, no matter what comes? This is the product of a settled and fixed heart; not one that can be easily distracted by what the world offers. 

Is there anyone who can hold my heart and cause me to look away from the author of my salvation? Is there anyone who can dictate terms to my life and cause me to make compromises? My heart cannot take two extremes or two competing interests. It is either my heart is focused on Christ alone, or it has made room for the devil. I can't play both sides; God does not take competition. How is my heart? How's yours? Is it in God's hands, or is it under the influence of people? 

Then comes the events, circumstances and situations around me. Check out what things are listed: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. None of these things is palatable; they come to shake up and prove the quality and depth of that which I hold on to. Oh, trouble will come; it is not a matter of if, but when. The fallen nature of man makes it easy for sin and its effect to be visible and felt. But then comes the decision: how much of all these would I allow to pollute that which is in me? How much of the drama outside me would I allow to come into my heart? What is that thing that is so powerful that it can draw my heart away from that which God offers? What is that person that is so close to my heart that s/he can take the place of God in my heart? 

Note: the devil will keep trying to distract. He knows that God's love is an all-encompassing one and he will do all he can to dilute it or to keep me away from the realisation of its full potential. I must set my heart on God, to the exclusion of everything else. Before the pressure comes, like Daniel, I must make up my mind to depend on God to stand for him. Like Joseph, I must be conscious of the presence of God so that my actions and decisions align with God's Word. Nothing must be more important; no one must be more important than the God who gives me breath. His love is given free of charge to me, but it demands a particular lifestyle from me. It requires that I focus on Him, to the exclusion of anyone else. When his love girds my heart, nothing outside his love can upseat him in my heart. Guess the question that matters is: is God's love the entire focus of my heart and is it so powerful that all else fades away? If it is not, it is not too late to get it right. His time of favour is here.