“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
‘for your sake we face death all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us.”
Romans 8:35-37(NIV)
Paul cites possible circumstances that could happen to a
church. The church at Rome eventually did go through these situations. Paul’s
purpose for writing these words was to remind the Roman believers of God’s
infinite love for those who believe in Him.
No matter what happens, God’s love is real and lasting.
In her book, One
Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp relates her experience of ministering to a
homeless man on the streets of Toronto. The man had a dog-eared Gideon Bible in
the duffel bag he carried. He asked one of the teenage girls to read aloud
Romans 7-8, which she did. When the girl reached a certain point, this homeless
man echoed each line that she read. Ann and the youth were there to minister to
him; he ministered to them.
It impressed me that this man, who lived on the streets, had
experienced God’s love and knew the Word. It gives me a new aspect to consider
when I think about those without a home.
A little over thirty years ago, I took a personal leave from
the job I had; after the leave ended, I resigned. I remember telling people I
wanted to survive the stress and mental fatigue I dealt with. I slowly realized
I didn’t just want to survive; I wanted more. Then I discovered this passage.
“More than conquerors,” that means more than just getting
by, it means surmounting those harsh
circumstances and giving thanks for our new-found knowledge that Jesus loves us
and will stand beside us in every circumstance we face.
Graphic: testimoinesofhisgoodness.wordpress.com
This is an interesting story Cecelia, sometimes we hear the Word differently when someone else reads it to us. A great scripture to share!
ReplyDeleteMarja: Thank you for stopping in. Yes, the Word sound differently when read aloud, I had a pastor who always read the Psalms aloud when he had personal devotions.
DeleteHi Cecelia! I'm so glad you decided to survive, and not get torpedoed by all the negative stuff at your job. It can be a hard decision, but we are meant to flower, not fade.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story from Anne Voskamp. So often we do end up being blessed by the ones we try to help. I think God likes us all to be blessed.
Have a great Wednesday!
Ceil
Ceil: Thank you for your warm comments. I was able to do more than survive, I was able to surmount those issues that plagued me. But , I did have to rely on God to do it.
DeleteThere is a book called "Same Kind of Different As Me" that tells a similar story. A wealthy Christian couple meets a homeless man and wants to be a blessing to him. Turns out, he is a blessing to them. He's a strong believer, but is on the streets due to a life of difficulty and other problems. It is a very inspirational story!
DeleteSandi: Thank you for stoppin in. I have heard pastors have visits at nursing homes and receive blessings from what a resident says or does. I believe that would be humbling.
DeleteI need to meditate more on this passage. So glad you shared it with us. Thanks and blessings to you! :)
ReplyDeleteKaren: Thank you for stoppin in. Yes, I understand about needing to meditate on this passage. We all need to spend more time in His Word.
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