Safe and secure in the grace of God

Today’s reading Genesis 7 – 8:22; Psalm 3:1-4; Proverbs 1:20-22; and, Matthew 4:1-25

~ The Lord calls us to enter into His grace ~

God calls us to find safety and security in His grace. Noah and his family enters into the Ark with the animals. Safely and secured, protected from the flood. While in the ark, Noah had to wait upon the Lord to act and direct him (see Isaiah 40:31). God remembered Noah and his family in a way that through His timing, they were able to enter into a new life and world. This gives us the assurance that despite what is happening in our lives, God’s promises and word is always trustworthy.

Noah was surrounded by his family and those animals they were in charge to care for. Trusting in God’s will and sovereignty, we find that blessings come upon those who rest in divine grace. For us, today, our Christian faith includes those whom we surround ourselves with. Are we safe and secure in relationship with others who love the Lord, and have love toward us? Or, are we surrounding ourselves with those who are walking in their own lusts and desires?

Jesus Christ provided the example of how we are to rest in the security and safety of God’s grace. When the adversary presented himself, there were three temptations Christ dealt with. As we follow the leading of God, there will surely be some form of temptation to set us back. Bring us to a place of questioning and doubting God’s will and desire. These temptations are not from God. However, we may see them as a test of our faithfulness toward Him. He already has a way provided for us to move past those temptations.

In one form of tempting us comes in the form of seeding doubt. We see this within the opening pages of Genesis when he tempted Eve. When we succumb to our doubts and insecurities, we shift our focus from the safety and security of God’s grace. We begin to move out into a place where we become captive and enslaved.

The adversary tempted Christ to change stones into bread – questioning whether Christ truly is whom he claimed to be. If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. The first place where we are tempted is to question our own identity in Christ. However, the response from Christ is simple. Relying on the word of God (scripture) He rebutted the temptations. It is written is how we are able to overcome the doubts and insecurities. It is how we are able to bring to mind the word of God.

The confidence we have in God is this: He is the only one who knows and understands us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows exactly what we stand in need of and how we are empowered and encouraged.

This is because we give ourselves over to daily prayer, daily meditation upon the scriptures, surrounding ourselves with others who are striving to deepen and enrich their relationship with Christ.

By entering into the safety and security of God’s grace by meditating and praying, we see God as the solution. This breaks the patterns of self-doubt and insecurities.