Heavenly Father,
you know us to be set in the midst of many great dangers,
and that in our frailty we cannot always stand upright;
grant to us your strength and protection,
that we may be supported in all adversities,
and carried through all temptations,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
What particular ‘dangers’ and ‘frailties’ are you conscious of today? There are plenty of dangers and frailties that are deeply personal, born from within one’s own heart (Matt 15:19). In addition to this, we can become acutely aware of our being set in the midst of an abundance of external dangers, dangers that exist from outside of one’s self. We can experience frailty as a result of standing faithfully in the midst of the stormy turbulence of constant testing. Perhaps you are tired and weary, fearful even, in response to the call to ‘contend for the faith’ (Jude 1:3) in the midst of the dangerous voices and turbulent storms of our day? Perhaps you feel frail and weak in the daily battle against the sin that exists in your own heart? You aren’t alone. In fact, be reassured that the normal Christian walk involves facing adversities and temptations of many kinds. Indeed, our own Saviour did (John 15:18-19; Hebrews 4:15).
We are reminded in our collect for today that our Father knows. Our Father is not unaware of our frail state, nor has he distanced himself from us in the midst of ‘many great dangers’. Rather, it is precisely as a result of our frail state in the midst of many great dangers that he has chosen to draw closer than one might ever have dared to imagine. He has revealed to us a saving gospel in Jesus Christ, foretold by the prophets and ‘into which even angels long to look’ (1 Peter 1:12). It was the compassionate and unyielding love of the godhead, looking upon our frail state in the midst of danger, that compelled the Son to become incarnate.
Let us ponder afresh in our hearts this reality: The Son of God left his throne and became flesh, entering our world, subjecting himself to the suffering of temptation and danger of the cross, on our behalf and for our sake. We worship a God who, in saving us, has made himself familiar with suffering in order that we might be saved and share with him in his glorious victory.
It is by faith in this gospel that we are:
- granted his ‘strength and protection’, as he tenderly cocoons and shelters us in himself: ‘He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler’ (Psalm 91:1-4);
- we are ‘supported in all adversities’, enabling us to stand upright: ’Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lordour God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright’ (Psalm 20:7-9);
- we are ‘carried through all temptations, through Jesus Christ our Lord’:‘For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted’ (Hebrews 2:18).
In the midst of many great dangers and in our frailty, by faith let’s keep our grip firm on this revealed gospel.
So pray this with me:
Heavenly Father,
you know us to be set in the midst of many great dangers,
and that in our frailty we cannot always stand upright;
grant to us your strength and protection,
that we may be supported in all adversities,
and carried through all temptations,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.