Instant Changes

READ: JOHN 10:27-30; ROMANS 8:31-39

My favorite baseball team made it to the playoffs one fall, and I was excited to watch the first playoff game with my brother and sister. We were preparing food ahead of time so we wouldn’t have to worry about it during the game, but as I was working in the kitchen my finger slipped—and before I knew it I had a bad cut. I went from excitedly preparing food to crying on the floor, a towel wrapped around my finger. I thought I would have to go to the emergency room. I didn’t know if I would even make it back in time for the game. Just like that, the thing that had been my main focus—the baseball game—wasn’t a big deal to me. I was only concerned about my finger.

Have you ever had something happen that changed your focus in an instant? Maybe someone died suddenly. Maybe you lost your home. Maybe you got injured or heard bad news out of the blue. When things like this happen, we are no longer able to focus on whatever else was on our minds. But even when our heads are spinning and our hearts are racing, God holds us. No matter what comes our way, He will be with us.

When things here on earth feel so uncertain, it’s good to remember what Jesus said about those who know Him: “I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). As Jesus’s followers, we can rest knowing that He holds us. And we get to look forward to Jesus’s return, when He will renew His creation and raise us from the dead to live with Him forever. In the meantime, we can cling to Him, knowing that He will be with us no matter what happens in our lives.

I think of how life can change in a moment, and I realize just how important it is to know that God holds me, now and forever. • Emily Acker

• Have you had an experience where suddenly your life was changed and your priorities were different? God is strong enough to hold us through the worst that life throws at us. Consider taking a moment to remember a time you felt overwhelmed, and imagine God holding you through it. What does that feel like?

“I [Jesus] am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b (WEB)