The clock will strike midnight and we will enter a New Year, a New Season. 2017 will be, “last year” and 2018 will officially be the “New Year”. As we journey from one year to another, from one season to another, God has “Safe Passage” in store for each and every one of our lives, through every season of our lives, even in difficult and potentially dangerous situations.
The definition of, “Safe Passage” from the Macmillan Dictionary is:
“Official protection for someone who is traveling through a dangerous area.”
“The practice or process of protecting.”
The Apostle Paul gives us a very detailed account of God providing “Safe Passage” for not only him but also for a whole crew of people with him. We read about it in Acts 27: 22-25 (AMP);
“But [even] now i beg you to be in good spirits and take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the ship.”
“For this [very] night there stood by my side an angel of God to Whom I belong and Whom I serve and worship.”
“And he said, Do not be frightened, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar; and behold, God has given you all those who are sailing with you.”
“So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith (complete confidence) in God that it will be exactly as it was told me.”
Notice that it was Paul’s “complete confidence” in God’s word not in the angel that delivered the word, that strengthened him for the ocean drama ahead. In Acts 28:1 we read,
“After we were safe on the island, we knew and recognized that it was called Malta.”
What relief it must have been for Paul and the rest of the crew to know that they had safely made it dry land without any loss of life just as the Lord said it would be. The “Complete Confidence” that Paul had in God, was in His Word. My husband Mark says it this way, “The Word of God is A Living-Being”! I couldn’t agree with him more. Paul’s intimacy with God grew out of his understanding of the Personhood of, “The Living Being of God’s Word”. John 1:14 (AMP) beautifully describes His Personhood for us,
“And the Word (Christ) became flesh human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His Honor, HIs Majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.”
Paul latched on to “The Living Being”, God’s direct Word for the dangerous situation that he found himself in, because of that unshakeable confidence in The Personhood of His Word, he and the whole crew received “Safe Passage” to the island of Malta which was the destination for the next leg of their journey.
Like the Apostle Paul, so many of us can look back over 2017 and clearly see where God has directed our steps and brought, “Safe Passage” as we have navigated through some difficult and even dangerous, situations. Now here we are safely entering 2018, let us continue to put “Complete Confidence” in The Personhood of God’s Word and cultivate an intimacy with Him that will keep our hearts firmly established in the Word that He has for our lives individually and corporately. Let us dear Saint continue to receive, “Safe Passage” throughout every season and every year of our lives.
“Be Strong and Live Free….Boldly For Him”!
Happy New Year!
© 2018 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”
Boldly For Him 