Daily Strength - when weighed down

¹ ‘To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: ² Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.’ (Jude 1-2 NIV)

Back in March time there was a phrase that kept coming to my mind. That phrase was that we needed ‘steadied’. Or maybe to be more personal, I needed steadied. Every day brought more news and more images that were unsteadying. People were frightened. Six months on, my sense is that while there is not the same fear at this moment, people are tired and weary. A lot of people at this moment are feeling weighed down.

Jude is a short letter about persevering, keeping steady in unsteady times. Jude opens our day not with the latest news item from a seat of government or a scientific lab, nor even with an overview of what we are personally facing in the day ahead, but with news about who we are and whose we are.

Jude injects three strong words into this new day. Called. Loved. Kept. You have been called into a living relationship with God and His people (the fellowship of the church). You are loved, a relentless love, a love that will not let you go, follows you into every moment and circumstance. You will be kept. The Christ who died for us is committed to us, right up until the end and then into eternity. Now that is good news!

Prayer: Father thank You that we are called, loved and kept. May we know Your mercy, Your peace and Your love today in abundance.