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Devotional for March 24, 2020

Still Reaching Out

"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 8:38-39 NIV)

It finally happened. On Sunday afternoon, here in Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine issued a Stay-At-Home Order, which went into effect at midnight last Monday night. What does it mean? Well, simply that now we have to remain even more separated than ever before. We can leave our homes to care for relatives, go shopping, engage in outdoor activities, and that's essentially all. The biggest challenge is going to be remaining connected to each other - which, actually, is much of the reason this devotional blog exists: as a way to keep connected.

 Even though technology can keep us connected with each other, especially by telephone and video chat, it's still going to be a tremendous challenge if we are unable to have actual physical interaction with each other. Therefore, we are encouraged to continue to keep connected with each other: I personally encourage all of you to keep calling, writing, and texting your relatives and friends - let them know they are not forgotten, and even though we cannot be with each other physically, we can still remain connected with each other.

 And, even though we occasionally still may experience feelings of isolation as we get used to the new arrangement, we also have a special promise: God is always connected with us. Paul reminds us in today's passage that nothing can separate us from God, or His love for us. As we talked about yesterday, God's love for us is guaranteed, and nothing can make Him stop loving or caring for us. No matter what might be happening to us, or what we may be going through, nothing can separate us from God. He is so powerful that nothing can stand in His way - and especially nothing can stop Him from showing His love to us in special ways. So as we get used to this new routine, or continue on with the routine, depending on where we live, we can always know and believe we are never alone or isolated - God is with us, is on our side, and loves us.

 Dear God, thank you that you are always with me, you never leave me alone, and you always let me know how much you love me. Please help me to believe you are always with me, and nothing can separate me from you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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