Nothing Can Stop
READ
The statistics are grim, and panic is surging throughout congregations around the world. People are leaving the church by the tens of thousands. People of all ages are disillusioned by the politics, division, shame, and judgment that characterize mainstream “Christianity.” They conflate God’s character with that of His broken people. Consequently, they want nothing to do with Jesus—or, rather, the false caricature we can at times present to the world around us.
Nowadays, it feels as though everyone is rejecting God and abandoning organized religion. Anxious preachers, ministers, and lay people alike weigh themselves down with a burden that was never theirs to carry: ‘saving’ the church.
But there is good news for us. The survival of the church doesn’t depend on us, but on the One who laid its foundations. The church isn’t dying—it could never die. After all, the One Who established the church overcame death.
No government, corrupt theology, or force of evil could ever stop the movement that Jesus began.
Let’s take a moment to read Matthew 16:18:
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
REFLECT
Today’s passage comes directly after Peter makes a miraculous confession of faith. Jesus asks him pointedly: Who do you say I am? By God’s grace, Peter recognizes Christ for exactly Who He is: the Savior of the world. Immediately, Jesus reminds Peter that this revelation was given to him by the Father (Matthew 16:17). It was not because Peter was especially ‘wise’ or ‘holy’ that he was able to see Christ clearly. This insight was a gift of sheer mercy. Just like Peter, none of us would have the ability to know Jesus as Lord without His illuminating grace.
God had the power—and the desire—to give Peter steadfast faith in Him. Today, God is still awakening hearts and helping even the most skeptical of people see Him for Who He truly is.
Even when the church seems like it’s on its last leg, we can have peace knowing that God is working to open the eyes of the lost.
God wants all people to be saved and to understand the Truth (1 Timothy 2:4). He is in loving pursuit of every wayward soul. He has the power to give faith to all those who despise Him, who are being fed lies about Him, and who have felt abandoned by Him. He is drawing all people to Himself (John 12:32).
The church is held in God’s capable, loving hands. Nothing can stop what God has put in motion.
Though the survival of the church is independent of our effort, we are nevertheless called to work alongside God to help His movement grow and thrive. In His grace, He wants to use us as living stones with which to build His Kingdom on earth.
As living stones, we are commanded to speak out when the church fails to reflect the heart of Christ. We are meant to be agents of reconciliation between His people and those who’ve been harmed and rejected by the institutional church. We are entrusted with a holy responsibility—to partner with God to advance His unstoppable redemption plan.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Have you grown disillusioned or disheartened by the state of the church? What would it look like to trust that God is sovereign over the fate of His movement?
How might you contribute to the health of the global church? In what ways can your steadfast commitment to His Kingdom give others hope that “the gates of hell will not prevail” against it?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Abba, Father! Thank You for establishing Your everlasting church. No power can tear down what You’ve built! No darkness can stop what You’ve put in motion! In Your grace, protect me from disillusionment, God. Remind me that Your movement has survived millenia, through the most dire of circumstances. Reassure me that Your church can and will endure. God, bring every wayward soul back to You. Renew and restore Your church in this generation! Free Your house of the politics that divides, the theologies that crush weary hearts, and the toxic dynamics that alienate those You love. Let us see Your church revived. Let us witness a reawakening. Do this, despite our doubt. We trust that You can. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.