top of page
BRAVER THAN LIONS
Sam Stringer
Sep 10, 2024
"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no
more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who, after He has
killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two
copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
Luke 12:4-7
I want to make two points to you today. If, and I will not hesitate to say if, you are a believer in Jesus
Christ indwelt by the Spirit of God, there’s two things to remember or realize right now:
1. You are held by God. No matter what happens to you, you are never safer than you could be.
You are merely being guided, led, and held through the stages and moments of your life. Safety
with God does not mean a life free of pain or difficulty, or perhaps even death. What it means is
that, as Paul speaks of in Romans 8:31-39, nothing can separate you from Him. I would add a
caveat to that “nothing” by including you yourself. Nothing, including you, can separate you from
God’s love. Please think with me here, if you agree that salvation is a gift of God’s grace
(unearned favor): if you can do nothing to gain His love, you can do nothing to lose it. Yes, we
believe by faith in Christ for salvation, but faith is not a work; it is a response to the work of Christ
that’s already been done, and God’s grace provided salvation. To go further, God’s love, agape
love, is a determinative love that extends from His choice to love. It is not a responsive or reactive
action; it is a determined choice to look out for your good and it is done in reflection of His
character, not yours. Every day, aware of it or not, agreeing with it or not, feeling it or not, you are
held in the hands of God. You have nothing to fear of people or problems in life, for they only
pass through the sovereign hand of God and only exist in your story for your good (Romans
8:28). Jesus, God the Son, did not dice words when He said not to fear others, but only to fear
God. If you are saved, the certainty of your eternity is not in question whatsoever; it is completed.
God keeps His promises. When you get out alignment and living in worry and fear, bring yourself
back to the right kind of fear, the fear of God, by remembering that everything and everyone is
subservient to His will.
2. You are valued by God. Now, instead of letting your mind wander to all the ways you might ask
as to why, let that statement go the direction of God. If God values someone, He who is
omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere), the Source of love
and good and holiness and wrath and so many other pristine attributes, how in the world would
His valuation not mean anything but provision and protection? How would He not intend to bring
that person into deep communion with Him eternally were He to set a deep value on them? You
see, the value He gives is not because of the inherent value of a wretched sinner, which by
nature we all are, but rather, the value comes from Him having them and having made them
valuable to Himself. Additionally, God values His own name highly, and it’s for the sake of His
name that He keeps His word to us. We tend to think very subjectively about God, asking what
we’ve done to deserve it (good or bad), why we’re lovely, why we’re rewarded, etc., but these are
questions better answered objectively. God does what He does because it is Who He is. We
receive from Him because of Who He is, not because of who we are. Everything He does is a
reflection of Him doing whatever He does in relationship to Himself as it relates to creation and
humanity within that creation. Heaven is not about rewarding individuals for a life well-lived; it is
about including them in an intimate, holy setting by looking at God without fear, without sin,
without end. Yes, there are rewards, but you must see that Heaven is about the eternal wonder
and pursuit of God in a first-hand fashion in ways you have never experienced here. You are
valued by God and if God has chosen to value you, it’s only foolishness and doubt that would
make any of us think that He is not acting upon that valuation even right now.
So I say again today what the title is, towards you, believer: you are never safer than you are right now.
You were never safer any other time as a Christian nor will you ever be, even in Heaven. Not because the
world isn’t sinful and quite frankly dangerous, but because nothing stands in the way of God and His
beloved children. Nothing thwarts Him and does something He doesn’t allow. God is the gateway to each
of us who are His. God is the source of all sustenance and goodness in our lives, not us. God will get the
glory. You may not see it in your moment right now, but know this: you will praise Him with the core of
your being one day, knowing that all of that story in this world was done within the boundaries of being
both held by Him and valued dearly by Him. Keep working to integrate this into your thinking. As I close, I
would recommend to you either A.W. Tozer’s “The Knowledge of the Holy,” or A.W. Pink’s, “The Attributes
of God.” Both changed my life immensely when I began to ponder who God is and they might be a great
help to you, too. Be blessed today.
Sam Stringer
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
bottom of page