Time For God: May 6

Focus: 2 Timothy 1:12
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
 
Reflect:
The final sunset fell over the Arctic. For the next six months darkness shrouded the land around the North Pole. The skies turned steel grey, then to shades of slate, and finally fell into the deepest darkness. The Northern Lights refuse to shine at that latitude—the most northerly residence on earth: Canadian Forces Station Alert.

At negative thirty-three degrees, we stood around a huge bonfire, mugs of cocoa in hand. A brave soul put a trumpet to his lips to play the Last Post and Reveille. Three Arctic Wolves stood so close it was possible to reach out and touch them. But we didn’t. The Commander’s standing order was No Touching; wolves are a rabies risk. Next day—without a dawn to greet us—everybody moved at glacial speed. The rate of heartbeats and breathing sagged; the urge to cocoon came heavily upon us all.

The airstrip reveals twisted aircraft wreckage. It is pushed to one side, out of the path of the infrequent incoming planes. Tangled metal creates its own memorial to aircraft that never landed. Eleven crosses mark lives remembered. Snow flurries, ice, and gusting crosswinds lash a bare landscape—a snow desert, evoking our awe.

Two kilometers from the main camp stands the meteorological shed. A corporal tracks the capricious weather, constantly communicating with approaching aircraft. Steel bars cover the windows. They were installed after a female soldier entered her room to meet a polar bear awaiting her arrival. Arctic dangers emerge suddenly.

Celtic followers of Christ speak of thin places. There the gap between heaven and earth grows slender in the Arctic. Visitors gain unlimited time to consider eternity. One small step might just carry you over heaven’s threshold and into awaiting glory.

The Apostle ponders his looming execution. He trusts God. His faith is strong. He is firmly persuaded that, come what may, God is faithful. He is able to keep safe all we have committed to Him. Our lives, our hopes and our future eternity are safe in Him.  

Consider:
How much of your life is committed to Christ? How do you measure Christ’s full commitment to you? What encourages your heart to trust that He is abundantly able to keep all that you commit to Him until the day of His appearing?
 
Pray:
Lord Jesus, thank You that I can safely entrust my life to You. Your care is real; Your love is personal to me. I entrust to Your safekeeping my loved ones and friends. May they fully trust You. In Your grace, draw them into Your redeeming love. Amen.