through faith we are guarded

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-5

How does faith guard us? Peter says that through God’s power we are being guarded by our faith. But our faith is given. It is not something we can manifest on our own, nor is it something we can get rid of on our own. The true faith that is bestowed when God decides to calls us to himself is a safeguard; a secure and invisible binding to the Truth even if we cannot ourselves comprehend that which we believe.
It makes me feel secure and safe that the God of the universe is using his enormous power to preserve our faith. I don’t have to try to be faithful in vain, He won’t let me go, he won’t let anyone pluck me out of his hand, and that includes my faith. It means that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead, and spoke the stars into being, is also being used to have mercy on one small sinful girl whose life is a second long. What is this faith I have? How precious and miraculous it is that we believe. What is this force that causes us to seek an invisible and loving God, against every natural impulse that makes us human and sinful. The old testament says in many places that God does what he pleases. And he was pleased to send his only son, and his spirit to me.
Now how to respond? Faith is not another thing we throw into our shopping bag. Respect it! Allow it to flourish by feeding it. For without faith, it is impossible to please God. He gave us faith, he helps us keep it, his power guards it for us, and we must make sure not to treat it as nothing. How can I feed my faith today?