Here is a prayer we can pray daily in verse 17. “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.” It will ground us, remind us who is in charge, and identify who should be king of our lives.
Paul is in awe of a God who rescued him from the darkness. If God did it for Paul, he will certainly do it for us as well. I love how Paul recognizes his sinfulness and gives glory to God for using him to show others of God’s faithfulness and intention to use even people broken and blinded by sin.
How do we succeed? There is a hint in verse 19. Cling to your faith. Cling. I think of an insect with feeble looking legs, but when it clings to you, it sticks almost like glue. That bug is clinging to be attached to you, just like we should be clinging to Jesus, to our faith in what he has done for us. When we let go, we are subject to the wind, and our destiny is not clear.
Paul warns that we will be shipwrecked, an image which made sense to him and to people of his day. When I think of the great shipwreck of our day – the sinking of the Titanic, I get a great picture of how our lives can be devastated if we choose to go our own way and not rely (cling) to Jesus.
How are your clinging to Jesus today? Do you feel like your faith is teetering? Hold tighter. When we, as Christians, become like the surrounding culture, our standards are lowered and true mercy and grace are not shown. We fool ourselves when we become complacent, become tolerant and approve behaviors under the excuse of being loving.
Let’s pray. Father God, thank you that we can cling to you and be made whole by your faithfulness. As you used Paul, please use me today to fight for your justice. Shine through me and keep me strong against the evil one. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
