Safe

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”  John 10:28-30

No passage should give the struggling Christian more comfort than this one in John chapter 10. Many of us may have believed, especially if we trusted Christ as a child, that the Christian life would be comfortable, easy, and free from struggle. The reality is, however, that the opposite is true. There is a reason Jesus said that in order to follow Him, one must, “Take up your cross daily.” In other words, “Be prepared to die – not just once – but over and over.”

It’s not just the enemy who, “Prowls around like a lion, looking for someone to devour,” (1 Peter 5:8) that wreaks havoc on our lives. On top of his temptations and attacks, we must deal with our flesh – which constantly battles against God’s Spirit living in us. Paul lamented over this struggle in Romans chapter 7, verbalizing the frustration that most of us experience on a daily basis…what we want to do, we do not do…but we do the things we don’t want to do. He summed up his explanation with, “O wretched man that I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

Yes, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ! Hallelujah, what a Savior! No matter how hard this life gets, or how many times we may stumble and fall, He will never leave or forsake us. Our eternity is not dependent on what we do, but rather on what Christ has done for us. If we are truly His followers, we will not use this truth as a license to give up, but as an encouragement to persevere for His sake. Such grace should compel us to fight with all our might to finish well this race He has marked out for us.

We serve a God who never lets us go. He never grows tired of us. And while our sin does anger our holy God, He has chosen to accept the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf. So now, even though we still sin, He chooses to see what we are becoming – the image of His Son being formed in us. It is hard to accept such a gift. It is difficult to remember that God’s eyes see the end from the beginning. Our lives in these bodies of sin are a raindrop in the ocean of eternity. That is why we must fight daily to live for eternity – aligning our vision with His – so that we are not tricked into forfeiting what is eternal for what is temporary.

His grip is firm, steady, and constant. However you may be struggling today, you can choose to repent, turn, surrender, or cry out. His love is unwavering, and His grace is enough.

Gracious Father, thank You for never letting me go. I can rest in Your care and trust You to carry me through any temptation or struggle. You are good all the time, and I desire to know and love You more today. In Jesus’ name, amen.