"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 8:28-29.

Can you feel it? Can you feel the sheer conviction, power, passion behind these written words? They are a staunchly determined statement of faith, a gut-level determined stance. In the wake of events present and in the light of future unknowns, the writer declares his absolute and resolute conclusion that nothing, yes NOTHING, can separate him from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have to ask the question of myself if I too am this convinced? I've read over this passage about a dozen times, but often, I've read it as if just passing by. Somehow the verses so familiar were a stranger to my understanding. I didn't linger long enough to ponder what such a statement really meant. My mind resonated with it's truth, but I didn't allow my heart the time to envision and feel it's meaning. This time however, I've camped here for a while. I can almost see the iron-willed face of the writer, almost as if he were saying, "nothing will change my conviction, nothing." Come what may, this was a convinced man.

Expounding even more on the same verses in modern-day language, The Message translates Romans 8:28-29 this way;

"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

"Nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable, nothing, nothing gets between us and our Lord because of the embrace of Christ. Wow. Today has been one of those days. My body is tired physically, and my heart is tired emotionally, but not even the honest assessment of my own weak state wedges Christ away from me. Quite the contrary. When I am weak, then He is strong. So very strong, yet so very gentle that His touche is one of the most profound I have ever experienced. His embrace is all-encompassing and transcends my own knowledge of circumstance, time, yes, even my own self. Today I bow down, absolutely convinced I am forever embraced by my God, your God.