"Graciously keep me this night." Martin Luther once prayed those words to God. So many others have joined his plea. A man named Job lost his children in a freak accident, then struggled with the point of life itself. A woman named Ruth waited in the dark, hoping the man she loved would reciprocate her love. An apostle nervously watched his life hang in the balance as a storm wrecked his ship. In love, Jesus graciously watched over each and every one of them. In love, Jesus graciously keeps you, too. He has felt the pain that stabs your heart, the betrayals that send you to tears, and the guilt that keeps you awake. He endured them all to make you his own. Let these devotions remind you of that good news ― that you belong to Jesus, even when the darkness comes. Steve Kruschel grew up in a Minnesotan parsonage. He studied for the pastoral ministry at Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and later received his MA in History from the University of Nebraska. He has served for 15 years as a pastor, first in Nebraska and currently in Wisconsin. He once wrote a devotional book for church leaders called  The Pastoral Prophet . He and his lovely wife, Becca, live near Lake Michigan with their half dozen children.