On this day in 1970 the Apollo 13 space capsule splashed down into the ocean.

How’d you like to be an astronaut? Imagine blasting off into space on a NASA mission, and then, after completing the mission, returning safely to earth. If you heard or read anything about the Apollo 13 mission (or saw the movie), you know how they almost didn’t make it back.

One man said he wouldn’t fly in a space ship or even in an airplane because Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 29:20, King James Version). He was kidding, of course. “Lo” is not the same as “low.” Jesus was saying that he would always be with his disciples wherever they were and “even to the end of the world.”

And check out our verses for today. Paul writes, “Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s great news!

Think about it. You could blast off from Cape Canaveral and fly to the edge of our solar system, and God would be there. You could get into a diving suit and be lowered deep into the ocean, and God would be there. Distance is nothing to him.

That’s not all. The Bible also promises that no person, angel, or demon can come between us and God. Nothing, nobody, no place, no how can keep us from God and his love.

What an amazing promise!

So no matter what you face today or where you are, remember that God is with you and in you, helping you and giving you peace and courage.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, 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).

To Do

Tell someone the “Lo, I am with you always” joke. Then say something like this: “Actually, God is with me high and low and everywhere I go. Isn’t that great?”

Also on this day . . .

This is National Cheeseball Day.

1629—Horses were first into the colonies by the American Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1790—Benjamin Franklin died.

1970—Apollo 13 returned to Earth safely after an on-board accident with an oxygen tank.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.