Separation from Him

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"

Romans 8:35

As you reflect on what it means to separate yourself from Him, you may find yourself thinking about distance. When you look at the structure of a relationship with God, you see the importance of closeness, of intimacy, of intentional time. Romans 8:35 "who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" Essentially do these things keep you from a relationship with Him? While depression and anxiety are not mentioned in this specifically, you may recognize the words of "trouble," "hardship," "persecution," "famine," and "danger" as words that enter the minds of those that experience depression and anxiety, as well as the minds of those around them. Depression is often met with isolation, lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities, and lack of motivation. Anxiety is often met with fear to engage, worry, disconnect, feelings of being stuck, and a hyper focus on fear. Experiences from these examples of depression and anxiety could, to some extent, fit into these categories: "trouble," "hardship," "persecution," "famine," and "danger." So do these things separate you from God?

Romans 8:37 is the answer to the question: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us." So those things that were once thought to lead to death, now are battles that you conquer because of His love. Because of Him. These things (isolation, lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities, lack of motivation, fear, worry, disconnect, feelings of being stuck, and hyper focus on fear) are the battles you face, but they are conquered by YOU through HIM. You see on a daily basis,these battles being fought without Him. And sadly, you see these battles being lost. You are strong, and you are strongest through Him.

Romans 8 continues to describe a this-or-that sequence: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life; neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:38-39. Recall in 1 Corinthians 13:13 "and now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love." The love that you have for Him, and the love that He has for you is the strongest element against the challenges of depression and anxiety. As you keep the focus on Him, these challenges may come and go, but they will never be able to separate the Love He has for you, or the ability to conquer these challenges through Him. Again, this does not make the challenges go away. This does not take away the pain, but it gives hope that through Him, you can and do come out of the darkness.

Even in Genesis 1:4 God shows you that He can separate light from dark, "God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness." Returning to the concept of distance. The closeness you allow Him to be, may determine the outcome of the fight. You reach a point where you allow Him to separate the light from the dark in your own life, without separating yourself from Him by your own doing.

If love is the greatest of these, you may begin to find that loving God, loving themselves, and loving others--- decreases separation. Which in returns creates closeness; the antidote of many experiences of depression and anxiety.

Scripture:

Romans 8:35-39

Genesis 1:4

1 Corinthians 13:13

Reflection:

What separates you currently from a relationship with God?

"Trouble"--What brings you trouble?

"Hardship"-- How do you bring God into your life during times of hardship?

"Persecution"--Who persecutes you? Do you persecute yourself?

"Famine"--What are you starving for?

"Danger"-- When faced with danger, who or what do you first turn?

If the greatest of these is love, where do you find yourself loving the most? The least?

Prayer:

Lord God, I come to You to seek Your closeness. Lord I seek to draw near to You so that I might experience Your love. Lord, I know that depression and anxiety can create ideas of separation. I know that depression and anxiety can deceive me into thinking that I am alone, and Lord I know through You that that is not true. Father God, what separates me from You is my determination to do life on my own, Lord but as I find that doing life with You, I find peace. I find hope. I find healing. Lord I pray for those who continue to fight, I pray for those who continue to battle the "trouble," "hardship," "persecutions," "famines," and "dangers." Lord I know that those experiences are real, and I know that You are real too. As Romans 8 reminds me, those things may try to separate us, and at times they may win, but when I have Your love these things cannot separate me from you. Lord please be with those that keep You at a distance, and may they find their way back to You. I ask this in Your son's name, Amen.