Things that Cannot Separate Us from the Love of God – DISTRESS

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

I’ve read the word distress many times, but I really did not know what it meant. This word distress in the above verses literally means – a narrow place. We would say – a tight spot, a jam or in the middle of a mess. The definition of distress from the Accurate and Reliable online dictionary has several definitions. The first definition was: “Extreme pain or suffering; anguish of body or mind; as, to suffer distress from the gout, or from the loss of friends.” Wow. I know about that last one. I suppose the idea that I bring that one on myself is debatable.

Other definitions include – having someone come and repo your stuff in order to pay a debt, a ship in distress from leaking water, psychological suffering. Basically it is mental anguish.

We all go through mental anguish. The good news is – our mental anguish cannot separate us from the love of God! Nowadays when I find myself in anguish about circumstances in my life – I turn them over to the Father. Here Lord, here is this problem that I just don’t know what to do about or how to handle. Please take care of this for me. Giving it to the Father, helps take away the mental anguish. He knows the end from the beginning on every possible thing in our lives.

Remember I said the Lord wanted me to write to this man in jail that I had had a falling out with? Well, the man wrote back and told me that it was a blessing to hear from me. I guess ex-friends are not always ex-friends forever. I bought a really colorful card to send him again so that the dreary walls of the jailhouse aren’t too depressing. Good things always turn out when we obey the Lord.

Distress cannot separate us from the Love of God!

Blessings in Christ
Linda