Romans 8:38: "Undaunted Radiance"

A friend sent me an sms about Romans 8:38 on Mon.....and to be honest, I didn't think much of it as I was busy zipping in and out of my classes. But on Tues nite....I was reading my Oswald Chambers daily devotional as usual before bed......and the entry was about Romans 8:38 again!! And I'm not even following the devotional by date you know. I just started reading it from Jan 1 from the day I received the book. I was quite stunned by God's timing.

Looks like God really wanted to say something....and I couldn't ignore it as much as I tried to by keeping myself busy. Today was quite interesting as well. I overheard this song "I Am Free" 3 separate times today....all 3 were different versions! Priscilla who was with me, commented, "God must be telling you something. :)" Yeah, so God has been speaking to me in amazing ways of late...and this girl can't even brush it off as mere coincidence. I am just gonna post the song lyrics and the entire entry by Oswald Chambers here ....cos it's really good and worth the read.

"Undaunted Radiance"- By Oswald Chambers, from "My Utmost for His Highest"
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Romans 8:37-39
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 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."

Paul is speaking of the things that might seem likely to separate or wedge in between the saint and the love of God; but the remarkable thing is that nothing can wedge in between the love of God and the saint. These things can and do come in between the devotional exercises of the soul and God and separate individual life from God; but none of them is able to wedge in between the love of God and the soul of the saint. The bedrock of our Christian faith is the unmerited, fathomless marvel of the love of God exhibited on the Cross of Calvary, a love we never can and never shall merit. Paul says this is the reason we are more than conquerors in all these things, super-victors, with a joy we would not have but for the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surf-rider the super-joy of going clean through it. Apply that to our own circumstances, these very things - tribulation, distress, persecution, produce in us the super-joy; they are not things to fight. We are more than conquerors through Him in all these things, not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. The saint never knows the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it - "I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation," says Paul.

Undaunted radiance is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can alter. The experiences of life, terrible or monotonous, are impotent to touch the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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"I Am Free" (by Jon Egan)
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Through You the blind will see,
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise,
Through You all hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams I am free


Chorus:
I am free to run (I am free to run)
I am free to dance (I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You (I am free to live for You)
I am free (I am free)