I Am Convinced

Lesson Two • Fill ‘er Up
Devotion 5: I Am Convinced 
Debbie Gabbara 

“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. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans‬ 8‬:38‬-39‬ (NLT)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The conviction that Paul has as he begins to explain to the Romans how much God loves us is so incredible! He says, “I am convinced.” Paul was convinced because he had seen the power of God at work in his life and in the lives of so many others who came to faith in Christ Jesus. 

A couple of days ago, I spent the afternoon going through a box that has been under the bed and moved from home to home with our family for 35 years. Inside the box was a treasure of cards and letters from my husband, children, and friends. My husband, Larry, and I had a great time looking at funny things the kids made for us over the years and reading sweet cards and notes from them. There were also cards that said, “Thank you” and “I’m sorry.” However, the majority of the box was filled with cards we gave to each other to remind each other of how very much we love one another. 

Paul’s relationship with the Lord was as real as the relationship I share with my family and husband. I have been convinced for 35 years that Larry loves me by the words he has written and the love that he has put into action towards me and our family over all these years. 

God wrote a love letter to us and called it the Bible. It is filled with promises that God left to remind us of how much He loves us. His love for us continues forever and will never stop. Look again at what Paul said in Romans 8: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” It is not death, life, angels, or demons. We do not have to worry about today or tomorrow because not even the powers of Hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below; nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I get an email each day called the Daily Promise. Every day, there is a verse in my email mailbox that reminds me of the promises that God has made to us and how much He loves us. Here are a couple of my favorites from the last few days: 

We are made alive in Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT) says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved.”

God’s love is beyond imagination. Ephesians 3:18-19 says, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

God promises to always love us! Nothing we can do will ever separate us from His love. Because of His mercy and grace, we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. Hard things may happen, but nothing will ever cause our Father to stop loving us. I am convinced that nothing we can do will ever separate us from Him or change how God feels about us. I hope you are, too.

Author and Christian educator, Henrietta Mears, said so beautifully about Romans chapter 8: “This glorious chapter opens with ‘no condemnation’ and ends with ‘no separation.’ This is a picture of our life ‘in Christ,’ the Christian is safe. Christ is around him; the Spirit is within him; and God is for him.”