Rom 8:35-36 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
The message of verse 35 is timeless and simple. The head does not need to think about it. The problem is in the heart. The heart knows the truth of this verse, but when difficult times come, it is difficult to apply this truth in such a way that it makes a difference. There are several things that can help us during times of hardship. One is the community of believers around us who can uphold us when we find ourselves buckling under the weight of the world. A second is to refocus our attention from the temporal to the eternal. Many songs of heaven were written by those who were undergoing suffering. Their attention was diverted from the pain and sorrow to the hope we have beyond this world. A third option is to pray and ask God for our faith to grow. Faith and hope go together. As our faith grows, so does our hope. As our hope grows stronger, our faith is renewed. Paul quotes Psalm 44:22 as an expression of the challenging feeling people have during their suffering. The Psalms have many laments and cries for help. These cries are answered in this passage. We have the assurance that God never leaves us during those times. That does not mean we will be free from pain and suffering but rather that we have a resource to help us through those times. Suffering is part of the preparation for eternity by helping our faith to grow.
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