Life can be difficult. At times, burdens, disappointments, and uncertainties can seem too difficult to bear. Poet Annie Johnson Flint poignantly captured the struggles of life in her poem “One Day at a Time”:
One day at a time with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes, with it weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain and its burden of care.
One day at a time we must meet and must bear.
One day at a time to be patient and strong,
To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong.
Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease,
It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.
One day at a time—but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong.
Thankfully, as believers in Jesus we have every reason to be optimistic amid life’s storms. For nothing can cause Jesus to stop loving us (Romans 8:31-39). Just think about it:
Can anything separate us from the love of God? No, not even the greatest of separators—death. For God walks through the valley of death with us, and when we walk through death’s door, we enter into everlasting life with Him.
Can our fears for today and our worries for tomorrow separate us from God’s love? No, God loves us with an “unfailing love” (Jeremiah 31:3). His love stands when all else fails.
Can the powers of hell drive a wedge between Christ’s love and us? No, not even the enemies of our soul can cause God to love us less.
In Romans 8, God is saying, “I’ve made up My mind. I can’t stop loving you. I’m for you. I’ll provide for you. I’m your advocate. I’ll give you overwhelming victory.” Yes, life can be difficult, but we are secure in Him.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 2:41–3:11
More:
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 for the adjectives of love. That’s how much God loves you.
Next:
How has God shown you that He loves you? How does knowing that nothing can separate you from God’s love give you strength to face the trials of today and the worries of tomorrow?
Gary Shultz on October 9, 2014 at 7:04 am
Thank you, encouraging thoughts to be sure. Add this to everything God is and we get a glimpse of our Father’s greatness to us; how reassuring.
Tom Felten on October 9, 2014 at 10:13 am
Poh Fang, what great truths about God and His love for us! May we take them to heart today and also freely share them with others. May we never forget, as John wrote, “God is love” (1 John 4:8).
sercher on October 9, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Reading today’s devotional has brought to mind these words from a hymn (a poem by Thomas Chisholm)
“Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.. “.
These words have always been with me in the toughest moments, no matter how long-lasting they were.
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) In Russian Synodal Bible this verse reads – “we overcome all these things by the Power of the One who has loved us”. Knowing that we can be empowered by so great a Power makes one strong enough to resist trials and tribulations.
We can rest assured that “Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not.”
Thank you, Poh Fang!