We live in a culture marked by insecurity – ups and downs. Walking into a coffee shop, I spotted near the front door a leading newspaper with charts strewn across its front page. Each one showed lines shifting sharply upward and downward in spurts – all describing financial markets. Every morning, my blood tester shows me whether or not my blood sugar level is high or low compared to normal. Our ministry’s website analyzer graphs peaks and valleys according to people’s interest in our site. We are inundated with ups and downs. Even our emotional mood changes with circumstances, body chemistry, and human interaction.
In the midst of continual fluctuation, what a comfort it is to realize that God’s love never vacillates. No high or low – no up or down – can ever change the care and love of our God who transcends a fickle world. Though riding the roller coaster of an unstable world system may tend to make us feel insecure, God’s faithfulness never lessens and never ceases. We may be tempted to feel less loved because we endure a particular shift or low point, but – in reality – NOTHING separates us from God’s love. Take the poetic words of Romans 8:38-39 (ESV) at face value:
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“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Did you catch that all-important phrase, “Nor height nor depth”? The highs of the stock market or my savings account make me no more a receiver of God’s love than do the lows of the same. The zenith of my physical health makes me no more accepted by God than my illness. I see God in the peak of my joy and favorable circumstances, but the pit of sadness and suffering do not move me any further from my Creator. Nothing separates me from His love – no height and no depth – nothing.
We rest secure and accepted because God’s love is relentless. His love does not wane when circumstances do. His love does not increase when blessing comes. Why? Because His love is infinite in strength. Compared to the changes and situations of life, God’s love cannot be measured. His love is always at full capacity. His love consumes whatever would sever us from Him. The appearance of angels in our lives does not make God love us more, just as the attack of demons cannot remove one bit of His love from us. Life itself cannot divide us from God’s love, yet neither can death. No matter the place or way in which we find ourselves, God’s love is greater and unyielding in its grip on us.
Let no man of earth or demon of Hell steal from you this truth. Let no circumstance of life – good or bad – high or low – take from you this hope. Let no argument, speech, or false teaching rob you of this fact. Nothing in all creation can separate you from God’s love. He is the Creator. He loves you. Everything He made ultimately bows to His will. All creation belongs to Him. Nothing under His sovereignty can diminish His love for you, because He is THE Sovereign!
Come high, come low. Come angel, come demon. Come today, come tomorrow. Come life, come death. Come anything. God’s love is with me. Always. Highs don’t draw us closer, and lows don’t take us further from His love.