For February 21, 2021
While on earth, our Lord submitted Himself to God and resisted the Devil successfully. As we emulate the Lord, James 4:7 teaches we too can “resist the Devil, and he will flee from us.”
Because Christ persevered and triumphed, we have the victory with the promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper (Isaiah 54:17). He dispatches His angels to keep us 
from danger, while His Holy Spirit dwells within to comfort us (John 14:16-18).
We are not invincible, for even the Lord’s Apostles were persecuted and martyred. Nevertheless, eternal blessing is certain because we belong to the Lord, whether we are living in this world or have gone to the next. He sustains us through our persecution and suffering while protecting us from Satan and the other forces at work against us (Romans 14:8, Revelation 14:13).
The apostle John was the last remaining disciple. While in exile on the Isle of Patmos, he had time to reflect on the three years he shared with our Lord, the other disciples (now gone), as well as Pentecost and the growth of the New Testament church. Despite the persecution from the tyrannical Roman emperors, John did not renounce his faith. Instead, he persevered, just as the Lord predicted,
Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me.c I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold (John 17:11–12 NLT).
There may be times when persecution and adversity cause us to doubt the Lord when we find ourselves in a “fiery furnace,” as in the case of the three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego presented in Daniel Chapter Three.
But we can be assured God has not abandoned us. He will give us the extraordinary resolve to count it all joy because our unspeakable treasure is not on the earth—it is in Heaven. Hardships do not negate God’s love, grace, and mercy, nor do they reveal His desertion because nothing can separate us from His love.
In the final analysis, all the things we experience will work together for our good (Romans 8:28).
Our toils and disappointments serve as constant reminders of the presence of sin in our world, which contrasts His magnificent Kingdom. There, all our toil and suffering will be forgotten instantly the moment we see Jesus Christ in His full majestic splendor (Revelation 21:3-4).
The Bible assures us we can be steadfast and ever vigilant in pursuing our incorruptible inheritance because we are kept by God’s power “through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3–5).
What a Wonderful Savior!