Hardships are a fact of life. For those of us who have been on this earth a while, we understand this all too well. However, we must keep in mind that our hardships don’t define who we are. Sometimes our hardships cause people to leave us. Our hardships can cause some people to not want to hang with us anymore. Instead of supporting us, they run away. Our depression and anxiety are hardships that many people don’t understand. It makes them uncomfortable, so they leave. And when they leave, we struggle with rejection, which makes our depression and anxiety worse. The good news is there is someone who will not leave us. There is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love this person has for us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus.
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). The apostle Paul wrote these words while a prisoner in Rome. Our depression and anxiety can at times feel like a prison. In fact, all hardships can feel like a prison. We can feel as if we are chained to our hardships with no way to escape. We feel rejected and unloved. Which makes our prison cell feel even smaller. We feel like no one cares. But if we look at what Paul is saying we will find someone who does care. Jesus cares, and He loves us no matter what we are struggling with. Paul wants us to know that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus. Our hardships don’t change how Jesus feels about us. We need to know that the love of Christ is never ending. Yes, sin separates us from God. It damages our relationship with HIm. This is why God feels distant to us. It’s because we have driven a wedge between us and God. However, this broken relationship doesn’t stop God from loving and pursuing us. Christ's love for us isn’t based on our hardships. Even when our relationship with God is broken, He still loves us. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1).
In the middle of our hardship we are loved. In the middle of our depression and anxiety we are loved. When it feels like no one loves us, Jesus is there loving us. Absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. A love so great that He would die on a cross for us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The cross of Christ is a reminder of how much He loves us. During our hardships we can choose to focus on our hardship, or focus on Christ everlasting love for us. Yes, our sin separates us from God, but nothing separates us from His love. May we choose to focus on the love of Christ. In the love of Christ there is redemption. In the love of Christ there is freedom.
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