I Peter 1: 5 speaks of those who are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. It says, “…who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

In other words, those whose love of Jesus is sincere will stand the test of time. Their faith will remain until the end. Though struggle and doubts may come, those with genuine faith in Christ will come to Him with their doubts. They will pray to their King and ask for help in their unbelief. They will still sin, but they will be placed under conviction by the Holy Spirit and confess and repent. They will struggle, but by the saving grace of Jesus Christ, their faith will prevail in the end. Because it is real.

There have been moments my faith has been weak. Moments I have struggled with the same sin cycle and questioned my salvation. Moments where it’s been difficult to trust in the goodness of God. Moments I’ve placed more stock on the things this world has to offer, rather than praying, “Lord, come quickly.” Moments where going to church was the last thing I wanted to do. Moments where my words have brought death rather than life. Moments I’ve placed myself on the throne, only to be dissatisfied, with the added bonus of a failure (since I cannot attain the sovereign authority of God). Moments where I feed my fears rather than my faith in Jesus, who never fails. Moments where I’ve looked at myself in the mirror, with the shame of feeling like I was a bad Christian.

Those two words, ‘bad’ and ‘Christian’ don’t seem to mix, do they?

But the more I’ve walked with Jesus, the more I see and understand that my hope is truly in Christ alone. You see, I’m covered by His blood, healed by His death on the cross and resurrection. But here on this earth, that does not make me perfect. It just means that my imperfections are covered by Jesus’ perfection. He is the unblemished, spotless Lamb of God. I am a sinner.

In order to be saved, we must first realize we need saving. Not only must we realize we need saving, we must acknowledge what we need saving from. You’ve seen the movies. The damsel in distress needs her knight to come rescue her from the fire-breathing dragon. She needs someone stronger than she to break open the prison door and stab the dragon in the heart. Someone who won’t mind the battle scars. Someone who will love her, despite the fact that in the dragon’s prison, she hasn’t bathed or eaten in days. On her own, she is helpless and weak. Until she is rescued, nursed back to health, and realizes, finally realizes, she is safe.

In the movies now, damsel in distress stories are not as popular. Men and women superhero stories are far more common now. We see that in Marvel, DC, Disney, Star Wars, etc. Where the main characters are the savior of their own lives.

The harsh truth? That’s not real.

The wonderful truth? The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection…His free gift of life offered to you and me…It’s not just a story. It is real. It’s true. It’s sincere. It’s genuine.

The truth we must accept? Our “good” is filthy rags. We cannot save ourselves. We need rescue! We have an enemy who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. We have a sin nature that we will battle with our whole lives here on earth. And even after salvation, we must still battle. But because of the precious life of Jesus, after salvation, we are no longer men and women in distress. He gives us the tools we need to fight the enemy. To die to ourselves. To live for Christ. He also gives us Himself. We are under His protection, as His children. He will never leave us in despair. Even in our worst struggles, He is there.

Lately, I’ve wrestled with the knowledge that many people–people I know and people who are strangers–are leaving the faith. It’s heartbreaking.

Yet, as it states in I Peter 1, real faith stands the test of time. It finishes the race. It remains. Even when weak, it remains. And because of Jesus, it prevails…in the end. Those who really know Jesus. Really love Him. They will lose battles, yes, but they will not and cannot lose the war.

It was won on the cross and left behind in the empty tomb when Jesus walked out of that grave in victory.

Victory that belongs to those whose faith will persevere.

John 13:1 says, “…Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” Meaning, He loved them with perfection.

It is His perfection that resides within us. I love the simplicity of the song Jesus Loves Me. Because we are weak, but He is strong. In my weakness, Jesus is my strength. He helps me in my own unbelief. He’s just that kind and merciful. I once was a damsel in distress, but not any longer. I once was lost, but now am found.

It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around those who walk away from the faith. Those who spend years reading the Word, only to later reject His teaching. Those who walked into church time and time again, but they were only playing a game. Isn’t that exhausting? It’s like Susan, from The Chronicles of Narnia, who walked with other believers, fought battles, talked to Aslan… Yet at the end, it’s made known she could never accept the story as truth.

To her, it was simply a beautiful story of fiction.

We can read a fictional story and love the plot and the characters and the decorative words that paint the world. But we can’t ever live within the fiction. It remains in our heads as images that stem from our imaginations. Because it’s not real. We don’t follow Superman, because he does not exist.

We can’t follow Christ if we think He was only a good man. We can’t love God if we think He is cruel. We can’t believe in the Lamb of God if we don’t acknowledge the Word of God as nonfiction.

He is not just a beautiful story; He is alive! Jesus is alive, seated at the right hand of the throne of God, beckoning us to come and follow and join the nonfiction story He is writing. A story of truth–of forgiveness, perfect love, victory, life, overcoming struggles, learning contentment, learning how to rest in Him.

And it starts by recognizing our need to be rescued from Satan’s snare. And knowing that the only way to break free from that prison…is through Christ alone.

Dear Friend, I don’t know where you’re at spiritually or mentally. But I pray you know that Jesus is Truth. I pray you call upon His name, the only name that can save. He delights in rescuing. If you feel as though your faith is weak, enter into the mercy that He is strong. He is stronger than the enemy. He is stronger than your sin nature. He is strong…

And He has the battle scars to prove it. With nail-pierced hands, feet, and side, He offers His strength, His life, His love.

Don’t you know that faith even as small as a mustard seed can move mountains? Because He is perfect.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and who is and who is to come.

Soli Deo Gloria.