Unsnatchable

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 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. I and the Father are one.”

– John 10:27-30 (ESV)

So says our Good Shepherd.

As humans and as believers, all of us (well, I assume this is true of you, it’s certainly true of me) experience some occasional FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). We wonder: will God really make all things right in the end? Does he really know and care about me? Will those I know and love who are identified with him stay with him, forever?

These are the questions that occupy my prayers. I think about the just-graduated high schoolers I know who are now navigating the waters of college. I think about my children and their friends. As human beings we are often, frankly, a mess. We are, like Peter, unstable as water, and the wheat and the tares both grow tall in our churches.

So I commit these concerns to God in prayer. More and more, lately, his still, small voice reassures me. We may all quake at the siftings of life. Some of us face situations that make us want to run, screaming, even from the Lord, in our foolishness. But he speaks to me, and he tells me “Fear not. I am in control.”

God is not afraid. Neither does he spend time worrying about our circumstances or what we will do. For his children there is the safety and reassurance in his strong hand. No one can snatch us away from him. Who would dare try? He is the greatest of all. There are no “snatch” plans that will work against him. His hand is strong.

As my mind continues its slow, almost imperceptible renewal and transformation toward thinking thoughts that please my King, I am increasingly comforted by this. There are people that I fret over and worry about; especially those from my student ministry past that I no longer have direct influence over. And it is dumb worry. I never really had any control in the first place. God has the control.

And if they are his, his they will remain. That’s the promise of the one who sees the end from the beginning. They are unsnatchable.

I’m so glad he’s in control!



“This one was born [in Zion]”

– Psalm 87:6b

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