“I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)
This is a great promise–if we are trusting in Christ to save us from our sins and have committed ourselves into his hands, we will live forever with Him and no one can snatch us out of his hands. He does of course specify that his sheep are those who hear his voice and follow him. We can choose to walk away and leave him–but, even if we are tricked into accidentally straying, God goes after us. And, in my experience, if we make him chase us, he pretty much hounds us until the ends of the earth. We don’t get away from God easily.
Holy Father, Lord Jesus, we thank you, that you hold us in the palm of your hand. We thank you that nothing Satan or man throws against us can tear us away from you unless we give them permission. Strengthen us in the storms of life to stand firm on your promises, Lord. If we are hurting today, we confess all our shame, all our pain, all our rage, all our doubting and fear to you. We know we stand secure and that voicing and lifting up to you the darkness of the heart won’t cause us to lose our place in you–rather we know we are trusting these things into your care and surrendering them to you in lifting this up right now. May we stand confident and secure at all times in your lovingkindness and care for our life, by giving to you all that gets in the way of putting our trust, our hope, our faith in you.
We pray for anyone struggling in their faith today. We ask you to give them grace to know you love them, that you still have your hand over their life, and will not let them go. I pray we would all know you as a loving father who cares and is concerned about us and all our troubles and that you are mighty to save. You have conquered the grave. Breathe new life on us and all who are dear to us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.