SAFE IN HIS HANDS

March 8

Bible Reading: John 10:28-42

John 10:28-29, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

He was the beloved president of the local chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association.  His Celebration of Life service was before a room packed with family and friends, with many testifying to how blessed they’d been to know him and how he had helped them in one way or another.

Before that, he was our hospice patient.  I was privileged to walk with him in the final steps of his life’s journey.  We readily formed a connection early in my visits, as we shared a love for Jesus and an affinity for riding motorcycles.  I soon learned that he had struggled with alcohol for many years before he came to know the Savior.  I’d pray with him every time I visited.  He had learned of my wife’s cancer struggle, and he’d always say a prayer for her.

He still had some things he wanted to do when he first came on hospice.  He wanted to ride his bike.  He had dreams of making a trip somewhere.  He wanted a yummy hamburger from some particular place in Yakima, where he had previously lived.  A family friend facilitated that request for him.  But one-by-one, he was forced to jettison his hopes, and then his independence. 

He was bedridden and hours from dying when I last prayed with him.  It was difficult for him to speak through his pain, but his concern was not for himself but for his family and their welfare after he was gone.  For we both knew that he was safe in the hands of Jesus and that there was nothing that could work to separate him from His love (Romans 8:37-38).  My last words to him were of the glory that awaited him in heaven. And he soon headed home to be with the Savior who loved him. One day we’ll likewise say goodbye to this world, and all our earthly hopes and dreams. But if you know Jesus, you’ve a best friend who will be with you always! Glory awaits for those who know Jesus! Have you trusted in Him for salvation?

To trust in Jesus is to find a best friend who will never leave or forsake us.  Nothing can henceforth work to snatch us out of His hands.

OUR GREAT SAVIOR!
Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my vict’ry wins.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows o’er me roll,
even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
storms about me, night o’ertakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
more than all in Him I find;
He hath granted me forgiveness;
I am His, and He is mine!
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end.