Just as some people have to sleep beneath mosquito nets to ward off the little bloodsuckers, some parrotfish spin cocoons of mucus before they nod off. They secrete the mucus “sleeping bag” around themselves for protection from predators.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a protective bubble to shield us from the dangers of the evil in this world? The reality is, however, that we’re not exempt from the dangers and vulnerabilities of life. But Paul assures us of God’s presence as we experience our days on earth (Romans 8:31-39).
The apostle directs us to think of the security we have in Jesus by asking and answering seven rhetorical questions (Romans 8:31-35). In verse 36, he quotes Psalm 44:22 to show that believers in Jesus aren’t immune from trouble, calamity, hunger, danger, or death. But we don’t have to fear, for God protects, saves, and keeps us safe in His protective “net” (Romans 8:31-39). Three times Paul assures us that we’re spiritually safe and secure in Christ’s great love. No wonder Paul triumphantly declares that “overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” No person or anything else “will ever be able to separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:37,39).
Although this doesn’t mean we’ll never face pain, suffering, and death, as believers in Jesus we’re saved and safe in the promise of God’s power, provision, and presence. Jesus readily assures us, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch [my sheep] away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). We’re truly secure forever in Jesus.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
More:
Read John 17:9-17 to see how Jesus prayed for our protection in Him.
Next:
Read once again the promise of God’s protection in Romans 8:31. What comfort and encouragement does this promise give you today?
Gary Shultz on May 21, 2017 at 6:27 am
Hi K.T. : These verses are certainly the bedrock of knowledge when it comes to dismissing any thought that we can somehow be snatched or swept away from God’s love. He will always care, He will always remember, as the passage reminds us, we are sealed by the great price of redemption. All of that and at times we are tempted to doubt. If we have any real idea of the security system our Creator deploys for each child we could quickly dismiss any worries of anything, or any other force out maneuvering God. God had to clearly assure us that we are secure so we can live in confident boldness as His child. As many things in scripture, the problem is not in the assurance, the problem lays in belief, the problem of belief lays in the laziness of the believer not pressing to know his Father and His word. In that knowledge we have great confidence to live our life in Christ. Thanks K.T.
i trust jesus on May 21, 2017 at 7:50 am
Thank you gary
conmeo on May 21, 2017 at 8:24 am
Hi KT and fellow OD Jers! Romans 8:31 is the ultimate in protection, encouragement and comfort. Just to have the words seep into our human weakness is so much blessing. When we are weak and weary, feeling broken hearted and defeated we know it is God’s strength in this protection we turn to. Not to the state for protection. Not to unbelievers who are going to protect our “rights”. But to trust God’s “wonderful things as these”. As one going through months and months of heart ache over broken relationships daily I turn to this chapter in Romans for that strength. Though I don’t understand what God’s plan is in this, I am encouraged to know His Will is at work in it. I am certain it would be His will that I pray diligently for these people, His people, in love. God IS for us. Amen
remembered on May 21, 2017 at 9:01 am
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1.
God, the great governor of the universe, has put everything under law. The tiny flower and the towering oak, the grain of sand and the mighty ocean, sunshine and shower, wind and rain, all obey nature’s laws. But man has been placed under a higher law. He has been given an intellect to see, and a conscience to feel, the powerful claims of God’s great moral law, the expression of what He desires His children to be.
God has made known His will so plainly that none need err. He desires all to have a correct understanding of His law, to feel the power of its principles; for their eternal interests are here involved. He who has an understanding of the far-reaching claims of God’s law can understand something of the heinousness of sin. And the more exalted his ideas of God’s requirements, the greater will be his gratitude for the pardon granted him….
In his own strength the sinner cannot meet the demands of God. He must go for help to the One who paid the ransom for him….
Christ is our hope. Those who trust in Him are cleansed. The grace of Christ and the government of God walk together in perfect harmony. When Jesus became man’s substitute, mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. The cross of Calvary bears witness to the high claims of God’s law.
The law of ten commandments is not to be looked upon as much from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side. Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience. As received in Christ, it works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through eternal ages. To the obedient it is a wall of protection. We behold in it the goodness of God, who by revealing to men the immutable principles of righteousness, seeks to shield them from the evils that result from transgression.