* Note: I was unable to write a blog this week but recalled a number of devotionals I had written for the church to help lead throughout the lockdown of 2020’s Covid pandemic. This week, I am posting one of those devotionals because I believe that the Scriptures hold eternal truths, regardless of the circumstances we’re currently in. So I hope you are benefitted from this look at Scripture that took place early on in the Covid-19 pandemic. *
JOHN 17:14-19 – 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
As Jesus prays to His Father, we may be reminded how incredibly blessed we are to see this communication in our Scriptures that sit before us. These words are as divine as every other word in our Bibles, but they are unique in that they are a window into the relationship between two persons of the Trinity.
We notice that Jesus was not asking that His followers do not feel pain or experience the devastation that a pandemic might bring. Instead, He asks that God keep us from the evil one. How was that to take place? By our sanctification in His truth, which is His Word. What exactly does that mean? As the believer comes into contact with God by studying the Scriptures, they are to grow and develop into a closer representation of who God calls them to be and as the person gives themselves over to the will of God, they are buffered from any meaningful harm that Satan might inflict on them.
How does this apply to us currently? Christ’s priority in this prayer to God, the Father, was not a believer’s comfort or perceived security in their jobs, their finances, their health, or anything else they might cling to. His priority was the depth of our relationship with Him. He would rather us go through difficulty and come out in stronger relationship with Him than live a life of ease but remain distant from Him.
Is this helpful to our mentality during difficult times? Let’s ask ourselves if we spend more time relying on His faithfulness or stressing over how our family will survive the pandemic, financially or otherwise. There is no doubt that there is a barrage of distractions these days which can do much damage to our state-of-mind. However, this is where we put our faith in motion and answer to Christ’s desire for us to be sanctified in the Word, so let’s ensure that we are spending a great deal of time seeking His wisdom in the Scriptures and in the character of Christ whom we worship. Let’s allow our studies to flood our minds, inform our behavior, and carry us through whatever difficulties might be pestering us today.
Love you all,
Young Adult Minister – Evan McNeff