“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
In the eighty words above (yes, I counted), there’s one that keeps tripping me up:
Convinced.
Convinced is a strong word. A little overbearing. Narrow-minded even. It means things like Persuaded. Influenced. Swayed. Won Over. Converted. Certain. And certain involves confidence, to be firm, without doubt, known or set, reliable.
See what I mean? Narrow-minded. It’s a dogmatic, control-freak kind of word if I’ve ever heard of one. And the antonym is just as nasty: Doubtful.
All that being said, AND feeling somewhat put on the spot, I’m giving the verse another read-through …
“I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love…”
This is an all-or-nothing scenario. And I can’t help but wonder: Am I … convinced? I think I can safely say I’m somewhat persuaded, leaning in that general direction and maybe even mostly on board. But being 90% convinced is like having a dog that’s 90% house-trained: At the end of the day I’m going to have a few messes to clean up.
Being convinced of the non-separating, unending love of God means:
Panic doesn’t stand a chance.
Worry won’t find a spare room here.
Forgiveness is a non-negotiable.
Insecurity is a thing of the past.
Beauty is part of the fabric of each day.
Joy overflows, even when pain is not absent.
Hope. Never. Dies.
Are you convinced, or moderately persuaded? Have you been won over, or is the vote still out? Is the truth of God’s never-changing love for you established firmly in your heart, or are seeds of doubt leaving a few messes at the end of the day?
Don’t settle for anything less than 100%. He’s already convinced about how He feels about you. Isn’t it time you did the same?
Nothing like putting it to ya straight!! Maybe I should have this one tatooed on the inside of my eyelids.
I’ve revisited this post 3 times since you wrote it and I still can’t think of anything to say to it. Except that it’s powerful. I’ve read that verse before, but I think I took convinced a little too lightly. Hmmm…
Oh, me too, Jerolyn. Maybe then it would finally stick! Ash, I know for a fact I’ve taken “convinced” too lightly. Here’s to making it a little more real tomorrow …