“Don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.” Luke 12:32
Heavenly Father, what a comfort, hope, and everything-changer, this one little verse is. Thank you for your compassionate heart (You know our fears); intense joy (You’re the original cheerful giver); and grand generosity (You make us—a small flock of lambs, the inheritors of your everlasting Kingdom).
Make this beautiful, bountiful, bodacious affirmation more real to us than ever—and especially to our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea.
As your beloved children—as Jesus’ Bride, we aren’t called to live as ingrown cloisters of anxiety, but as outward-loving communities of grace. Until Jesus returns, we are to share the Gospel and create beauty, be good neighbors and do excellent work, advocate for justice and extend your mercy.
Since the Fall, Satan’s strategies have included creating fear with persecution, sleepiness with pampering, division with infighting, and distractions with anything possible. But since eternity, your plan has been to fill the earth with your glory, and populate it with a “little flock” from every nation and people group—as numerous as stars, sand, and dust. You have not changed your mind.
Our labors in the Lord will never be in vain. Your Kingdom has come in part, and it is barreling towards us in fullness. Hallelujah we shout, and Amen we pray, in Jesus’ name.
