Scripture

Our verse for today comes from 2 Corinthians 1:22, “Who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Background

Just in case. Some of us live our lives by this little phrase, don’t we? There’s never been a screw that we didn’t think we might need some day, or we’ve never owned something long enough to be able to throw away the receipt. Books from college, socks that are missing their match, clothes that will never fit again, they all have a place just in case we might be able to use them again. To a certain degree, it sounds like a sensible way to live. Entire industries exist to provide for those who choose to live this way. Self storage facilities are filled from floor to ceiling with things that people are keeping just in case they ever need them again. Countless dollars are spent to hang on to things that could be replaced at a fraction of the cost. Much of the insurance we buy is purchased in case the worst happens. AAA, jumper cables, the back-up generator, and countless other useful expenditures are made just in case we are in a pickle and need immediate help.

Application

But I wonder how biblical “just in case” is? There are plenty of instances where God tells us to be prepared and to make allowances for things, so I know there is a time and a place for it. But haven’t so many of us taken it to a level that is light years beyond being prepared in a godly way? Haven’t we replaced trust, dependence and faith with our own forms of security? Have we not traded the peace of surrender for the exhaustion of preparation? The clutter around us and within our minds so subtly replaces the grace of relying on our Father that we spend much of our energy trying to make the two coexist. God gave us His Spirit, but He didn’t do it just in case we needed it. He sent it because we are powerless without it. He sent it as the only guarantee we would ever need, that He is ever with us, and that we will one day be ever with Him. Relying on His Spirit is nothing that Jesus Himself didn’t do, and that alone is the example we should follow. So, just in case you have something to do today or somewhere to go, try doing it by relying on the Spirit of an Almighty God.

Charge

As we seek Him today, take a minute to consider what you’re hanging on to for your own peace of mind. See if you can let something go, just in case you don’t really need it.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words