My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John  10:27-29)

Read: 2 Chronicles 17:1 – 18:34, Romans 9:25 – 10:13, Psalms 20:1-9, Proverbs 20:2-3

Relate: They are on a pleasure barge, but they are not there for pleasure. This is an execution. Because they refuse to go quietly into that good night, the execution turns into a battle. In the course of that battle, a man named Lando is knocked overboard. His friend, Han, tries to rescue him but between Han’s partial blindness, the boat being rocked by the battle around them, and the steep slipperiness of the sand beneath Lando’s feet, it takes a bit before the two men are able to lock arms.

Almost as soon as they do, a tentacle from the Sarlaac (if you don’t know, don’t ask) snakes out, grab’s Lando’s foot, and begins pulling him down into the Great Pit of Carkoon. In this tug of war, Han loses and his grip on Lando is lost so Han pulls out his blaster. It is, after all, Han Solo’s solution for any and every problem. His famous luck holds out and, in spite of his partial blindness, he manages to shoot the tentacle that had been pulling his friend towards a horrible death. Finally, the two are able to link arms once again and are pulled back to the safety of the pleasure barge.

The thing is, while all of this is going on, Han himself is almost completely out of the boat. This isn’t much of a concern, however, because Chewbacca has him. Chewie’s got a good grip. No matter how badly the boat gets rocked, no matter how fierce the battle is around them, Chewie won’t let go. Han knows this and the confidence he has in his copilot allows him to focus completely on his friend. Ultimately, it is Chewie who is able to pull both men back to safety.

If you have no idea what I am talking about in the scene above, please don’t tell me. It would seriously lower my opinion of you to know that you have not seen the third greatest movie ever made. Instead, do whatever it takes to get your hands on a copy of the original Star Wars Trilogy. Then call in sick tomorrow and watch them. Do not wait. I am not joking.

React: Back to the task at hand, as good as Chewbacca’s grip is, God’s is greater. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can snatch the Father’s sheep out of His hand. Not death or life, not height or depth, not past present or future, not angels or demons, principalities or powers, nothing can snatch us out of His hand. No matter how fierce the battle rages around us, God has a good grip on us. No matter how violently the boat of our life gets rocked, God has a good grip on us. He won’t let go.

Once we know, truly know this, we will be better equipped to reach out and rescue those around us.

Respond: