The Lord Keeps for Himself

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. 7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”
Romans 11:1-10

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The Lord Keeps for Himself
The Lord has taken the sins of the world to the cross. Jesus has defeated sin and death. He has triumphed over every one of your enemies. He does not forsake his people. He rescues them. He keeps them for himself. You may think that all the world is against you. You may think that you are the only believer in Christ. The times may be tough. The goings may be hard. Everyone may be against you. God keeps you in his victory. He washes you in the righteousness of his blood. He preserves you against all the attacks. He unites you to himself and to the church. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are never forsaken. You have been chosen by grace. Those that think they have earned it or that they have it by the will of men have it all wrong. Saint John reminds us that Jesus gave us the right to be Sons of God not by will of the flesh or the will of man, but by the will of God. It is his delight to have you as his own. He gave everything to have you and his will is to keep you.