HE HOLDS HIS SHEEP FAST
There is great comfort in knowing that our salvation does not hang upon the frail thread of human resolve, but upon the mighty hand of the Savior. The believer’s confidence rests not in how firmly he clings to Christ, but in how firmly Christ holds him. Our Lord Himself declared that His sheep hear His voice, He knows them, and they follow Him; He gives them eternal life, and they shall never perish, nor shall anyone snatch them out of His hand (John 10:27-28). This is not the language of uncertainty, but of divine security spoken by the Shepherd of souls.
The heart of man is changeable, easily discouraged, and prone to wander. We resolve, and then falter; we promise, and then forget. Yet the covenant love of Christ does not fluctuate with our moods or measure itself by our strength. The apostle Paul reminds us that He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will surely give us all things necessary for life and godliness (Romans 8:32). The cross stands as the unshakable proof that Christ’s commitment to His people is deeper than our failures and stronger than our fears.
This truth humbles the proud and lifts the weary. It humbles us because it strips away all boasting. If we stand, it is by grace. If we endure, it is because Christ intercedes for us even now. The Gospel assures us that He always lives to make intercession for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). Our names are carried not only on His heart, but into the very presence of the Father. What accusation can stand when the risen Christ Himself speaks on our behalf?
Yet this doctrine also calls us to holy devotion. The same Lord who holds His sheep fast also leads them forward. He preserves us not in indifference, but in obedience. His grace does not loosen the reins of righteousness; it tightens them with love. We follow because we are His, and we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Assurance does not produce carelessness; it produces gratitude, reverence, and a longing to please the One who has shown us such mercy.
Let the trembling believer take heart. Christ does not abandon His own. He does not grow weary of those He has redeemed. The nails that once pierced His hands now testify that those hands will never release the souls entrusted to Him. Rest, then, not in your grip on the Shepherd, but in the Shepherd’s grip on you.
___________
Lord Jesus, thank You for holding me when my strength fails. Teach me to trust Your faithfulness, to walk in grateful obedience, and to rest in the assurance of Your saving grace. Amen.
BDD
