I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can’t be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation.
Romans 8:38–39
I s a carefree life a holier life? Not necessarily. It’s worth very little to have life just the way you want it, and it’s worth a lot to have something in your life you wish wasn’t there. Why? Well, because it’s through trouble, distress, and danger that you get to know the power of God’s love.
God doesn’t promise to keep you from all trouble, but he promises to keep you close to him in the midst of it. He never promised the God Girl that her life would be free from suffering or testing. When trials come you can trust the power of God to get you through. Some circumstances will come to you because of your own sinfulness, your own mistakes, and these have to be taken like discipline, with confession and repentance. But when things beyond your power plague you, you can’t let them become your undoing. When there’s something in your life you wish wasn’t there, you can never let that separate you from the fact that God is with you.
Trouble, distress, demons, rulers, mean people, even violent death can’t separate you from his love. That means that when you’re faced with dangers, you can expect to find more of him. The more trials you overcome and cling to him through, the more your character grows along with your absolute confidence that he is who he says he is. So don’t be sorry for the troubles in your life but let them be used for your good, not your destruction. Let them always draw you closer to him.