Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that, for Christians, the ultimate concern and goal should be for eternal safety, which faith in Christ guarantees, and which incomparably exceeds any concerns or hazards of this temporal world. And, indeed, God may provide temporal safety to Christians in ways that they may never even know or be aware of in this life.

God is also in control of events, and nothing happens without His permissive will, making all things (even seemingly adverse events) work together for the good of His followers (which, again, however, might not necessarily coincide with their temporal good, or with the limited perspective of each individual as to what that good should be).

In John 16:33, Jesus told the eleven faithful apostles, "In this world you will have trouble," in fulfillment of which only one of them did not ultimately die a martyr's death, just as Paul would later endure the sufferings recounted in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 before being martyred himself. But Jesus then immediately added, "But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world," which represents the hope and assurance of Christians down to the present day, despite whatever dangers they may face in this life.

September 15 2020 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

When we believe in Jesus, surrender to his Lordship in our lives, and walk with his Holy Spirit, we are guaranteed safety; the safety defined by God’s will and purpose, not the safety we would wish to have.

Before each of us were born God already knew the length of our days. He knows the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second that he will take us home to heaven; God is sovereign and nothing in all the universe can thwart his plan and purpose.

The apostle Paul is a great example of this. God had a plan and purpose for his life (just like he does for each of us), and nothing could stop Paul from carrying out his mission. But he did suffer in many ways while accomplishing his mission.

This is how each of us experiences the peace of God that Jesus was talking about. We can rest in the arms of God every day while going through all sorts of calamities and trials. Why? Because God is in control of his universe, God has a plan and purpose for our lives, and nothing can stop our mission until it is completed. Nothing can happen in our lives that is not God’s will.

We can rest in his protection and safety. There are many verses in Psalm 37 that show us how God sovereignly takes care of us. That is great, good news.

September 15 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report