NTDS (40): In His Keeping

1 Cor 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

Meditate on this verse. Read it out loud. Look at each word carefully. Grasp the depth of what Paul is saying to the church at Corinth. …“to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours:” (1 Cor 1:2) That means he is speaking to you and me as well as to those in the early church.

There are many believers in Christ who struggle with doubt about their salvation. It seems that when they fall into sin or go through a season where they might not feel close to God, it causes them to question whether or not they are truly saved. Would you describe yourself that way?

It’s not necessarily a bad thing to check your heart once in a while. We can all get complacent in our walk with the Lord and that is not a good thing. The problem comes when we place too much emphasis on our performance, how much we do for God or how well we do it. It is also not good to think that just because we don’t feel close to the Lord, that He has gone anywhere. You may stray, but he is always there. (Dt 31:6, Mt 28:20))

So look again at the verse. Note that it is He who will keep you strong, not you. We are responsible to spend time with Jesus and walk in the power of His Spirit (Gal 5). He then is the one who supplies that power. If we just surrender our will to Him, He will do it!

How long will He do that? Verse 8 says “to the end.” That means until He comes again or you leave this earth for eternity. You need not worry about whether you will “make it” to the end. Jesus guarantees that you will. Phil 1:6
says, …”being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
You don’t have to be good enough or feel close enough for God to complete the plans He has for you. Just keep trusting in Him, asking Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit each day and then let Him take care of the rest.

Notice the result that is accomplished by His keeping you strong. It is so that you will be blameless when meet the Lord face to face. That was accomplished the moment you trusted Christ for your salvation, because of His death on the cross. You became blameless for your own sin because He took your blame. The word blameless in the original language means, “free from accusation.” That is how God sees you.

If that is how God sees us, then we need to see ourselves the same way. Not justified or blameless because of anything we did, but because of His wonderful grace. The bible says that Satan accuses the brethren day and night to God (Rev 12:10). You don’t need to help him out by accusing yourself. Instead, when you know you are wrong, confess immediately to the Lord, thank Him for His forgiveness and great grace toward you and live joyously, know that you are and always will be blameless in His eyes. That is the promise of this wonderful verse.

So, when you are tempted to dwell on your shortcomings, read this verse. You are called to be holy. He will accomplish that in you. When you “feel” distant form the Lord, read this verse and be reminded that it is He that keeps you strong “until the end.” When you begin to compare yourself with others and feel like you just don’t measure up, read this verse and know that you are blameless in His sight.

God never breaks his promises, so you can know that when He says something, it is true and it will come to pass. He says here that you are in His keeping now and forevermore! Believe it, rest in it and share it with others that they might come into this same relationship!

God bless you

Coach