Topic: God Won’t Let Go of Your Hand [RICK WARREN Devotional 29 JANUARY 2023]
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God Won’t Let Go of Your Hand
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand.”
John 10:27-28 (NCV)
You can’t save yourself—but you don’t have to! All you need to do is put your hand in God’s hand and say, “God, I surrender it all to you—all the good and bad parts of my life. I’m not perfect, but you are, and so I’m accepting your gift of salvation.”
When you do that, you can relax in your salvation.
But some days, you’ll want to let go of God’s hand. You’ll want to pull back and say, “I don’t even know what I believe.” But God is never going to let go of your hand, because he loves you too much.
Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand. My Father gave my sheep to me. He is greater than all, and no person can steal my sheep out of my Father’s hand”(John 10:27-29 NCV).
The “eternal life”God gives you begins the moment you put your hand in his, and you can’t lose it once you’ve got it. Why? Because your salvation is not based on having more good works to outweigh your bad works. It’s based on the merits of Jesus Christ.
If you could get to heaven simply by being a nice person, then Jesus dying on the cross was a total waste of suffering, sorrow, sadness, and pain. If there was any other way for you to get into heaven except by Jesus Christ, God would have chosen it. But there was no other way.
Jesus “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 NIV),which means the world is lost. Everyone is not going to heaven. If everyone was automatically going to heaven, Jesus did not need to come to Earth, live a perfect life, and then carry “our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24 GNT).
When you put your life in God’s hand, he promises he will hold on to you forever. This is why you can relax in your salvation. If you truly trust in Christ and know that you’re not getting to heaven on your own efforts, then nothing can steal your salvation from you—not Satan, sorrow, sickness, or society. You’re in the hand of the Good Shepherd.
Talk It Over
- When you try to “help” God with your salvation, what does it say about your understanding of grace?
- What would change about your life if you “relaxed” in your salvation?
- Psalm 23:1 says, “The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need” (NLT). What else do you feel like you need in life besides Christ?
If you want the security of God’s unwavering love and unbreakable promises, then place yourself under the Good Shepherd’s care.
You can start by praying this simple prayer: “Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is your Son. I believe he died for my sin and that you raised him to life. I want to trust him as my Savior and follow him as Lord. Jesus, please come into my life and change my priorities, my values, my purpose, and my direction. Transform me into the person you want me to be. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
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