The time here was right before Jesus’ arrest, his trial, and his crucifixion on a cross to put to death with him the sins of the world. And he was praying to God the Father concerning his followers, because Jesus was about ready to leave them, and soon he would go back to the Father. Jesus had been with them for at least three years, teaching them the ways of the Lord. And those who were his true disciples had kept the word of the Lord. But he was concerned for how they would do once he was gone, and so he prayed:
John 17:12-17 NKJV
12“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Tested and Tried
As followers of Jesus Christ we are going to be tested and
tried. We are going to face temptations to give into the flesh. Satan is going
to “pull out all the stops,” i.e. he is going to make every possible effort and
use all available resources he has to try to trip us up, to get us to sin, and to
get us to betray our faith and our Lord. For he does not want us walking in
obedience to our Lord, doing the will of God, sharing the truth of the gospel
with the people of the world. He wants us to be afraid. He wants us to fail in so
many ways.
And he has many different “tricks up his sleeve,” too. And
it isn’t all just temptations to sin. But it can be confusing our minds,
blocking our ability to hear God’s voice by clouding our minds with all sorts
of other stuff, which could include reminders of past failures, hoping to get
us discouraged so we will give up the fight. Or he might attack us with
sickness or weakness or fatigue to the point to where he thinks he can get us
to give up and to back down and to fall away and to no longer pursue God and
his righteousness.
Or he may plant fearful thoughts in our minds such as, “what
if this happens, then what?” For he definitely wants us to be afraid of
everything, really, but especially of rejection, persecutions, mocking, and
betrayals. He wants us so afraid of everything and everyone and every possible
difficult circumstance so that we will not obey our Lord and his calling upon
our lives. He wants us to where we will just “play it safe” so as not to upset
anyone and so as not to draw attention to ourselves so we will do nothing good.
Kept From the Evil One
And Jesus knew that. He knew what his followers were going
to be up against once he was no longer with them protecting them from the evil
one, in person. He knew what tricks the enemy was going to attempt with them
once he was no longer with them. And he knew what kinds of persecutions they
were going to face, and how they would be hated by their enemies without him
there to comfort and encourage them face to face. And so he prayed to the
Father for their protection from the evil one, our enemy.
But he was not asking the Father that they be taken out of
the world, but that he would keep them safe while they were still in the world.
For God sent us into the world to be his witnesses to the people of the world.
And we are going to come up against opposition, for certain. But we are here,
not so that we will partake in the things of the world, i.e. the lusts of the
flesh and of the eyes and the pride of life, but that we would stand out as
different from the world because we are being made into the likeness of our
Lord.
[Matthew 5:10-12;
Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke
21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; Ephesians
6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 1 Thessalonians
3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation
11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18;
Revelation 14:1-13]
I Sing of His Mercy
Based off Psalm 32
An Original Work /
April 10, 2014
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Blessed are those
whose sins are forgiven
By the blood of
Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does
Not count against
them; freedom found.
When, in silence, I
did not confess
My sin to You; had
no strength.
Then I owned up to
my sin and
You forgave and
cleansed me within.
Therefore let the
godly pray to You;
Draw near to You;
grace they’ll find.
They will not be
o’ertaken by afflictions,
But in Christ peace
abounds.
Lord, You are my
hiding place.
I find my refuge in
You secure.
You protect me from
all evil.
You give songs of
vict’ry in You.
Lord, You teach me
to walk in Your ways;
Counsel me in love,
I know.
Help me to not be
stubborn and
Unwilling to follow
in Your truth.
Thank You for Your
love and mercy.
I put my trust in
You always.
I rejoice in my Lord
and
I sing of Him
throughout all my days.
Not of The World
An Original Work / May 21, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
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