"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35)
Watching a dad pry a 2 year old off of mom to give her a much needed break can be both humorous and sad. Young children find their safety and security in the bond they have with their mother. Watching a toddler being taught the necessity of separation can cause anxious moments for all.
Christians are also affected by separation anxiety. So many forces conspire to pull our attention away from God, displacing the peace and joy our devotion provides for us. Our loving Father foresaw these forces. He sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus, to defeat them for us!
St. Paul catalogs some of the common causes for spiritual separation anxiety: life, death, demons, depths, the present, the future. But none of these things can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus!
Jesus decisively accomplished on the cross a salvation that cannot change with our moods and circumstances. Anxiety may still infest us at times, but we are comforted through the promises of the Bible and the work of God the Holy Ghost in our lives.
If you feel the anxiety of separation from your gracious Lord, remind yourself that God has purchased you forever through the blessed suffering and death of Jesus. Ask Him to help you identify sinful thoughts, desires, and behaviors in your life. Make a clean confession of it. Turn away from it. Then trust the salvation God the Father has provided you in His holy Son.
Trust God's promises in Christ more than your feelings and circumstances. Faith in what Jesus has done for you overcomes the anxiety of separation.
-Dale
