A Lasting Connection

One of the most frustrating things about modern life is when the internet connection goes down and you’re in the middle of something important. You type away only to realise that for the past few minutes no-one has been taking any notice, because there’s no connection! Thank God for IT techies who can help us to re-connect.

It’s not only internet connections that break, however. We were returning home recently from teaching abroad, and our plane became delayed because of a power failure at Gatwick airport. When we eventually landed, the plane sat on the runway for a while, while the control tower tried to find a stand for us to disembark through.

When we did arrive on the stand, the captain announced that there was another problem. The air bridge, which connects the plane to the terminal, and which was about 3 metres from us, had no-one to drive it. We had to sit there looking at our means of exit, but not going anywhere, the flight crew included. I wondered how many people weren’t going to make their connections with other flights or trains as a result of this connection failure.
There are times when we’re not ‘connected’ with people we’re in conversation with. Have you had the experience of talking with someone, only to realise that they were ‘miles away’ and had that blank look on their face? Sometimes, I must admit, I’m guilty of that disconnection. Or maybe it’s friends or family who live a long way away, and we don’t get to speak to them very often. There’s a broken connection, due to distance, poor technology or whatever. I recall when I first started visiting Romania in the early 1990s. There were often times when the telephone wouldn’t connect to my wife back in the UK, which she found a bit concerning.

Praise God that there’s never that problem of no connection with God. We may be a bit disconnected in our ability to worship or pray, and maybe even find it hard to know the presence of the Lord. I’ve experienced such times myself. However the Scripture in Paul’s letter to the Romans, quoted above, assures us that there’s never a disconnection from the love of God. Love comes from God, and He won’t pull the plug, no matter what our circumstances. ‘Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God’ (Romans 8:38).

What a relief that is! Nothing I do or don’t do will break the connection that God has made for me through Jesus. The list that Paul quotes is quite comprehensive, and maybe we could add our own circumstances to it, as we’re assured of the everlasting connection that we have.

‘Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God`s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38-39).
No matter what goes on here on earth, God’s love for you and me is eternal and unbreakable. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Father, thank You so much for not being like the rest of creation, which can let us down so easily. Thank You that Your love is not dependent on our circumstances, but your amazing grace to us. When we’re despondent or ‘under the circumstances’, please help us to re-focus on Your unbreakable Word, and draw strength from your truth – that there are no lost connections with Your love. Amen.