“We who have run for
our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope
with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual
lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of
God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent
post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.”
-
Heb. 6: 18-19 (MSG)
How I praise You, Jesus, that You are
my great High Priest, forever interceding to the Father on my behalf
- that because of Your perfect sacrifice on the cross, a helpless
sinner such as me can miraculously be seen as acceptable in God's
sight.
This is the hope to which my life
should be anchored: that as long as I walk this earth, Christ is with
me at every moment; and when, in His perfect timing He calls me home,
He is ready to welcome me into His presence for all eternity. If I
cling to this truth daily, even in the midst of the unavoidable
difficulties of life, how free from fear and its companion, despair,
I will be!
On the flip-side, if I am lured by my
sin nature, the world and the Enemy into believing that my hope
really lies in anything other than Christ (e.g. financial security,
health, a godly husband/kids, acceptance, pleasure, escapism...) then
I will always walk in fear – because none of these false gods are
unshakeable; they can all crumble like dust. Fear cannot coexist with
the hope that overflows from Christ's perfect love (1 Jn. 4:18). When
I fear, it's because I'm believing the lie that God is still angry at
me, which directly denies the promised hope of Christ's forever
saving work on the cross.
Forgive me, Lord – I know that at the
root of all my struggles with insecurity, anger, selfishness,
gluttony and worry is fear! Fear that You are not enough for
me to anchor my every moment onto, but that I must manage my
lifelines to all my other false gods, which is exhausting and will
lead nowhere but to despair.
Oh Lord, give me the grace to live a
life fully secured to the unbreakable hope of Christ alone, that He
will provide for my every need, and that because of Your great love
for me, I need never fear. Even though I fail daily, You are faithful
to relentlessly pursue me with Your grace and mercy, as You have
always done. My hope is secure in You!
