• Nothing Can Separate Us

    By: Kristen L. McNulty



    April 15 is a day that we won't soon forget. I don't know where you were when you heard about the horrible bombing at the Boston Marathon, but likely your response was the same as mine: shock and disbelief. It's hard to fathom why someone would do such a terrible thing. Whoever it was stole life from those who passed away, stole health from those who were injured, stole innocence and peace from those who were there and stole some assurance from all of us watching at home, feeling a lot less secure than we did the day before.

    While I could never attempt to explain the why of such a terrible tragedy, I feel very strongly about sharing something else: the love of God. Some have a hard time connecting God's love with humanity when things like this happen, but we must never mistake the evil in this world as somehow warping the truth about the goodness of God. Whoever was behind this act of terror was playing on the devil's side, not God's. And while God allows all of us as individuals in this world the choice of how we are going to live our lives, for good or for evil, His love is available to all of us no matter what we are going through.

    It was the Apostle Paul that wrote in Romans 8:38:

    "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."

    Satan would have us believe that as soon as life gets hard or the darkness starts to creep in that God has checked out. That couldn't be further from the truth. In the brutalist moment of our history, the death of Jesus Christ, to the outside world it might have looked like God had abandoned this carpenter from Nazareth. In the Grand Scheme of things, His story was only getting started. The darkest moment preceded the dawn of the resurrection that would not only change the course of history, but the lives of everyone who believes.

    If our beliefs abandon or change the moment our lives are challenged or tragedy strikes, we are no better than a bottle bobbing on the ocean, that has surrendered itself to the course of the waves. However if we allow our minds to stay cantered on the truth of who we know God to be when the waves start crashing, then we become like the buoy- our lives might rock with the waves, but we stay anchored where we should be.

    The truth is of the matter Satan never stops trying to tear us down- as individuals, as families, as nations. The Bible is very clear about the fact that he comes to kill, steal and destroy. And while he can throw circumstances in our way that can kill the body or steal our health, he cannot destroy your peace or your faith unless you let him.

    We can stop him from doing that, but we have to choose to stand up. If we allow ourselves to remain complacent and we remove the anchor that Christ is from our lives, we don't stand a chance. But we do if we keep our eyes open we're told that we can stand against him.

    1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us:

    "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." (1 Peter 5:8-9)

    And we aren't in this battle alone. As we're taught in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 "the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one."

    It might seem like the darkness is overwhelming, but we have the light of Christ on our side. That might not always mean that we are never exposed to the nighttime of our lives or the dark nights of the soul, but it does mean that even in those places we can know that we are not alone. It also means that even in the darkest place we can hold onto the truth that often its darkest right before the dawn.

    Your circumstances might look pitch black. Your faith might be shaken. You might be tired and weary. But this is no time to give up. Instead it's a time to stand up and fight, holding your ground. This is also no time to run from God, but rather a chance to turn to Him. God will offer strength to the weary, peace to those in turmoil and love to those who feel unlovable. Turn to Him, ask Him to come into your life and heal your wounds and fill you with His love. The same kind of love that the Bible promises we can never be separated from. Cry out to Him and watch what He can do in your life, even in the middle of your darkest day.

    Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.

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