"Therefore, Child of God, let NOTHING separate you from His love."
Romans 8:35-39
Have you ever been through a severe time of testing? Have you ever had a string of tragedies that rocked you to the core? Job went through a severe time of testing where he wrongly accused God and questioned His character, but to his credit, he did not abandon his faith.
I remember back in 1993 when I had experienced a string of deaths of people for whom I fervently prayed. THAT really challenged my faith! But I continued to hang on and go to church anyway in spite of my rift with God. Thankfully, I eventually came out of it when I came to the conclusion that I had to trust Him or lose my mind.
Back in the day, M.C. Hammer produced a song called “Too Legit to Quit.” “Legit,” of course, is short for “legitimate.” If we are to keep our relationship with God on track in the midst of a severe trial we must see Him as too LEGIT for US to quit. What do I mean by that? LEGIT is an acronym I have come up with that will help us to remember God’s special characteristics so we won’t let the devil blind us, deceive us into thinking things like, “God is out to get me,” and cause us to effectively quit on God:
L is for Loving – If we are going to get through any trial, we must believe that God loves us because He sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16). This is the foundation for receiving anything from God. If we don’t believe that He loves us, then we will fall prey to the devil’s lies that He has sinister intentions toward us when we are under severe trial.
E is for Exists – When I was going through a time of testing, I saw that someone who was not even serving God was prospering while I paid my tithes and continued to struggle. Believe it or not, I started to question God’s existence. Thank God, I was able to come out of it! But Hebrews 11:6 relays that we must believe God exists and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.
G is for Good – Even when good things are not happening to us, we must believe that God is good. He is not out to get us. He is not punishing us, for Jesus took our punishment. He is not playing games, and He is not a psychopath who gets joy out of seeing people suffer. God is good all the time.
I is for Immutable – God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:11). He is the ONLY One we can count on to always stay the same. If circumstances cause us to perceive that He has changed in any way, that’s the devil’s deception.
T is for Trustworthy – God is truthful. The Bible says He cannot lie. His Word always works, and He can be trusted to do what He says He will do even if we are going through something we don’t understand right now.
The point is this: if we do not believe these basic things about God we are destined to spiral downward. We cannot indict and blame God for our circumstances and expect His power to flow to help us. When we don’t understand, it’s imperative that we hang on and trust Him. Therefore, Child of God, let NOTHING separate you from His love (Romans 8:35-39). He loves you unconditionally, and you must be determined that you’ll love Him unconditionally even if things don’t go as planned. Stay the course because God is too LEGIT for you to quit!
Tracey L. Moore (a.k.a. The Purposeful Poet) is a poet, author and speaker whose goal is to challenge you to be your best for Christ. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Christian Counseling from Oral Roberts University and is an Associate Minister at Chesapeake Christian Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.