Show Notes
Feeling worn down by division, disappointment, or your own failures—and wondering if God’s love might finally give out on you? This episode takes you deep into Romans 8:31–39 to remind you that if God is for you, no one and nothing gets the last word over your life. Description Angela sits down with author, speaker, and dear friend Christina Custodio to unpack Romans 8:31–39 and what it really means that “nothing… will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” They talk about what it looks like to cling to that truth in a hard personal season, how God’s love steadies us in a divided and often harsh culture, and why understanding “God is for us” changes the way we see ourselves, our neighbors, and people who are different from us. As a woman of color, Christina shares honestly about feeling “against,” confronting her own biases, and learning to love others from the security of being unconditionally loved by God. Episode Highlights
Context for Romans 8: Paul’s sweeping reminder to believers (Jew and Gentile) that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, and that God Himself has justified and adopted them.
“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” – why God’s verdict over us cancels every accusation, shame, and self-condemnation, even when circumstances scream the opposite.
What suffering doesn’t mean: trouble, persecution, hunger, danger, and even death are not signs that God has stopped loving us; they are places where His love holds us fast.
Christina’s perspective as a woman of color in a “predominantly white world”: feeling unseen or “against,” even by people who genuinely love her, and how this passage anchors her identity beyond any group, platform, or party.
Hard but necessary heart work:
Confronting prejudice and bias—even against people who look like her.
Naming the ways we dehumanize others with “those people” language.
Learning to condemn sin and injustice without condemning entire groups made in God’s image.
Loving like the God who loves us: why “Jesus did all the work,” how that frees us from trying to earn His love by being “against” the right things, and how His unconditional love empowers us to speak truth wrapped in kindness instead of pride.
Great Quotes
“Our security is not in a group of people or a country or a platform; it is in God. If He is for us, then no one who is against us gets the final word.”
“There is no such thing as ‘I’ll get my life together first, then I’ll come to God.’ He loves the real, tired, messy us—and He’s the One who does the restoring.”
“Love changes people. Condemnation doesn’t.”
“If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, why do we think it’s our job?”
Scripture
Romans 8:31–39
John 3:17
Connect with Christina
Website: christinacustodio.com
Book: When God Changed His Mind – Christina’s story of her son’s near-death experience and how God used it to launch a ministry of joy, faith, and hope. *Amazon Affiliate link
Related Episodes
“Gentleness and Respect: A Guide for Conversations” – practical wisdom for speaking truth with a spirit of gentleness and honor, even in hard or divisive topics.
“God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding” – how God brings order and restoration out of chaos, especially after loss or disruption.
“Prayer: An Invitation to Release Worry” – an episode about bringing anxiety and fear to God in honest prayer and learning to rest in His care.
Free Devotional & Newsletter If you’re craving ongoing encouragement to rethink your thinking and live all of life as worship, you can get a free devotional and regular updates from Angela by subscribing to the Life as Worship newsletter here:http://eepurl.com/h3Nafz
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