God's Preservation of His People: The Perseverance of the Saints in Troublous Times

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretched out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands." --Psalm 138:7-8 

As I write this, America is just past another wave of Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has just begun its third week. Unemployment is low, but inflation has jumped, especially in the prices of food and gasoline. We are in uncertain times. People are fearful, and many professing Christians have begun another round of talk about the Rapture and Mark of the Beast. 

Under such circumstances, unease is rational. Trusting in God does not mean that Christians don't have normal emotions. However, bad theology merely fans the flames of that unease, adding irrational fears to the rational unease. 

Good theology, on the other hand, brings comfort, and minimizes our fears. In particular, the knowledge that God, our God, reconciled to us through the blood of Jesus, always keeps us in His care: "We know that, for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30). This is hard for our egocentric hearts to accept, but the purpose of God is not about us; it is for the glory of His Son that He causes all things to work for good for those who belong to His Son. 

Beyond that, however, it is the purpose of the Son to care for His people without failure and without ceasing: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them 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" (John 10:27-29). Because of His love to His sheep, Jesus guarantees to us that He cannot fail to preserve His sheep for eternity, and He calls on the love of the Father for Him to guarantee what He desires for us.