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“Who clings with resolution To Him whom Satan hates Must look for persecution; For him the burden waits Of mock’ry, shame, and losses Heaped on his blameless head; A thousand plagues and crosses Will be his daily bread.
“No danger, thirst, or hunger, No pain or poverty, No earthly tyrant’s anger Shall ever vanquish me. Though earth should break asunder, My fortress You shall be; No fire or sword or thunder Shall sever You from me.”
For the person who clings by faith to Christ Jesus, “a thousand plagues and crosses will be his daily bread.” This is not what you would call good news. It is certainly not what we are asking when we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Although our hymn warns us to “look for persecution,” we must never actively seek the world’s hatred. Yet we should not be surprised by persecution because Jesus warned us: “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19b). Christians bring much that is good to the world, to believers and unbelievers alike. Those who follow Jesus proclaim the Gospel, help the poor and ill, and feed the hungry, as our Lord commanded. Even unbelievers often respect such charitable work, so why do so many others hate us?
The hymn provides an answer. The unbelieving world will often hate those who “cling with resolution to Him whom Satan hates.” From the beginning, Satan sought to destroy the Word and works of God. The evil foe also wants to destroy all who cling by faith to Jesus. Satan sought to destroy Jesus, unaware that by leading people to betray, arrest, and kill the Savior, the devil was bringing about his own destruction. By His death and resurrection, Jesus crushed the powers of sin, death, and the devil. Satan’s final doom is sealed and he knows it. Like the dangerous, fatally wounded creature that he is, Satan thrashes in rage, seeking through temptation and persecution to separate us from our Lord.
Yet there is good news in our hymn! The devil cannot snatch us from our Shepherd’s hand. Jesus is not going to let go of us. The hymn boldly states that “no danger, thirst, or hunger, no pain or poverty, no earthly tyrant’s anger” can separate us from Jesus. The list in the hymn echoes the words of the apostle Paul, who summarizes a similar list with the assurance that nothing in all creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39b). We will endure persecution. The world will hate us, and crosses of ridicule and disdain may often be our “daily bread,” but the battle has already been won. The Savior to whom we cling with resolute faith holds us in His strong, nail-scarred hand.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, nothing can separate me from Your love. Help me to be a bold witness for You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “If God Himself Be for Me,” which is number 724 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- Though the world be sinful and bleak, how are Christians to try to live? (See Matthew 5:13-16.)
- How can we stay strong in our faith in the face of the enemy’s wiles and the world’s temptations? (See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 13; Ephesians 6:11-17; 1 Peter 5:8-9.)
- What does it mean to you that nothing in all creation “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”?
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