Kept By His Power

“You… are kept by the power of God, through faith, for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

This simple verse holds three powerful truths for citizens of Heaven, as we sojourn through this life. First, we are being “kept” by God’s power. This is a military term that means: “To guard with an elite unit of soldiers, as a garrison, protecting those within their care.”

We realize this truth “through faith.” We don’t have to see this angelic Army. We know it is impossible for God to lie, and we also know that God has allowed others to see His Heavenly Host, like Jacob, Elisha and his servant, and the shepherds in the fields.

It is this Army that is waiting in the wings, for our “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” At the trumpet signal and the shout of Christ, they will descend from their military post and gather (“catch up”) the people of God from earth before the Great Tribulation. The moment we put our faith in Christ we are given the assurance that our souls are saved. This verse refers to the consummation of our salvation, the rescue of our bodies from this earth, to meet Christ in the air, to be "forever with the Lord."

Because of this great truth, the Bible tells us, “Gird up the loins of your mind (have the mindset of leaving), be sober (awake, calm, and alert), and hope (be cheerfully confident) to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Guarded by God’s power, and aware of it through faith, enables us to walk in confidence through these last tumultuous days. What a joy to belong to Him.

(Devotional by Lisa Cataford)