Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭35‬-‭39‬
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 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.

Horror is only feared without the hope of a better future. Here we have followers of Jesus listed (in general, because by guess there were so many among their ranks) who suffered for the sake of the gospel. Horrific deaths, persecution, torture — these were all a part of living as a Christian in the early church. And it is a part of being a Christian today in some countries around the world. What we experience is typically mild in the United States, in comparison.

They did not have any possessions, they had no food provisions. Shelter was temporary. They lived in caves and holes in the ground, together with all the bugs and vermin.

And yet despite all of this — they remained faithful until the end. They focused their passions and goals in life around Jesus and the spread of the Gospel. And they were honored for it!

When I get past what I am fearful of or worried about, I can focus on what matters most in the midst of the storm. I can have an extraordinary impact on others — an impact far beyond myself. How? Only by the power of Jesus Christ!

I love the passage in Romans. It is like it offers the Love of Christ as a lifeline to us, one that never disappears. Paul keeps throwing it out into the different crises of our lives: trouble, hardship, persecution, nakedness, danger, or sword. These are all earthly human challenges. Then he states that nothing in this world or in the spirit world is powerful enough to separate us from the love of God found in Jesus Christ!

Lord, help me to saturate my mind and heart with your love, like watering plants over and over again to keep them growing in extremely hot weather. When my life is squeezed, no matter the hardship or persecution, I want only love to come out.