How was your 2018? If you were living on this planet you would have experienced joy, excitement and maybe even some of those priceless “laugh until you cry” moments—we all need more of those. But you also would have seen or felt pain, loneliness, sadness and loss.
My year included many of the above so I find deep comfort in this remarkable paragraph below. It’s a total life-changer when you allow its truth to penetrate your heart. Read it slowly, and more than once, to understand its incredible depth.
The Father’s presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defence. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord’s permission, and “all things” that are permitted “work together for good to them that love God”.1
Let Christ surround you in 2019.
Julian Archer is the founder of Faith vs Finance—a global ministry working with Christians who seek to maintain a vibrant relationship with Jesus amidst the pressures of materialism and self-centred lifestyles.
