Standing Firm
Based on Genesis 15:1-6, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-21, Luke 13:31-34
We all go through seasons where we get knocked off balance by events in our lives, in our world, or by the speed at which the world operates today. These times can be health crises, job loss, lack of promotion or stagnant salaries, changes in marital or relationship status, deaths, or a worldwide pandemic as we had 5 years ago today. Add into these significant life events the overwhelming number of voices that compete for our attention every waking moment – each voice more strident than the next, often offering information that is contradictory to the last voice to which we listened. How can we plan effectively for our futures, when we don’t know which voice speaks the truth?
In the face of such uncertainty, people often reach for anything or anyone that gives the illusion of strength, dependability and protection from the unpredictable world. Our Bible gives us many instances of the people of God being tossed about by the winds of change. The Israelites, God’s “chosen” people were small in relation to many of the groups that surrounded them, and so they were often tempted to trust in people to give them security rather than God. Case-in-point, they turned away from God and from the judges God had appointed to adjudicate their disputes and aske Samuel to give them a king. This turned out to be a very bad decision for Israel, because most of their human kings looked out only for themselves and did not seek counsel from God.
Yet, there were a few kings of Israel that looked out from their times of trial and sought God’s strength, guidance, wisdom and love. David was one of those kings. David was persecuted and chased all over creation by King Saul who had vowed to kill him, and yet David did not give in to his fears and to the uncertainty of his future. Instead, he penned a song of firm belief in God that we know as Psalm 27. David found sure footing in his relationship to God and trusted that God would take care of him. David sings, “…For in the day of trouble God [he] will keep me safe in God’s dwelling; God will hide me in the shelter of God’s sacred tent and set me high upon a rock….” David’s ability to stand firm in his faith when his life was in danger allowed God’s plans for him to be fulfilled.
Likewise, we have the story of the covenant between Abram and God in today’s reading. This is the covenant that makes possible all of God’s plan for the redemption of humankind. In fact, the three major monotheistic religions all stem from Abram’s decision to trust God and to stand firm in great faith in spite of God taking God’s sweet time to fulfill the promise to Abram to make him a great nation. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi speaks about the followers of the Christ putting “no confidence in the flesh”. That is, they are to stand firm in their trust that God will fulfill God’s promises made to them by Jesus who was the Christ. Paul reminds the Philippians to stand firm in their status as beloved children of God; on the promises of the God whose power is able to bring everything in the world under control.
Some Pharisees come to warn Jesus about Herod’s desire to kill him. Jesus tells them that he is not afraid of this terrible king of the Jews. Instead, Jesus tells the Pharisees that he will continue his ministry as he seeks to finish his goal. Jesus knows that the Jerusalem leadership has a history of killing its prophets. He weeps because he truly just wanted to come to them to have them repent of their sins and to realize that the God of their ancestors had brought the Messiah among them to lead them and to protect them as a hen does her chicks. Even under Herod’s death threats, Jesus stands firm in his knowledge of both his mission and the love of God in which he is held.
These scriptures and many more in our Bible contain the teachings that we need for all occasions that seem to pull the rug out from under us. Our United Methodist Hymnal is another great source of comforting and life-giving word. It contains many wonderful songs, and they are helpfully divided into major themes like “the glory of the triune God”, “Christ’s gracious life”, “the nature of the church”, “power of the Holy Spirit” and one that is pertinent to today’s reflection, “sanctifying and perfecting grace”. Each of the major headings has sub-headings which focus the singer on how those songs speak to the larger theme. One of those is “strength in tribulation” in which we find favorite hymns like, “Nearer My God, to Thee”, “Be Still, My Soul”, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, “We Shall Overcome” and “How Firm a Foundation”.
These songs in this section of our hymnal are favorites because they remind us of the great truth of our faith – the truth that God is present and will help us when we are in need. “How Firm a Foundation” specifically uses 7 different scripture verses from across the two Testaments to remind the believer to neither fear nor lose faith in God. The second verse states, “Fear not; I am with thee. O be not dismayed, for I am thy God, I will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by my Righteous, Omnipotent hand.”
It is our fears that cause us to lose faith and hope in the God of our ancestors – and think that we have no place to stand firm before whatever struggle confronts us. The Rev. Peter Steinke wrote, “…Rabbi Abraham Heschel claimed that the role of the prophet is ‘to cast out fear.’ The psalmist (of Psalm 27) does this using poetry in the service of prophecy, showing a way to parlay fear into energy, to transmute danger into possibility and to switch power from the scary present to the things that might be. ‘I believe,’ the psalmist exclaims, ‘…that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ Even though present conditions appear to deny God’s goodness, he trusts that which is not seen and which escapes sense experience. God will be faithful – ‘the Lord will take me up.’ This assurance is the heart of the gospel. God will not let his promises return empty. In Christ all things will become new.
When we are of a fearful heart, we forget the plot of the story. God is not only the author of all things, the God of Genesis (and the covenants with Abram and others), the Parent [Mother] of all creation, the beginning Source but also the God of promise, of the things that will be, of new creation, of the future, of tomorrow. God is the Alpha and the Omega.
Moving from the vision of the moment to a wider view of the future with firm confidence in the Lord, the psalmist says: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yea, wait for the Lord! (Ps. 27:14) Through the centuries, these and other words of the Psalter have been a reservoir of refreshment for those bowed down by the limits of life….”
While we can find much that causes us fear and anxiety in our day, we who seek to know God better through the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ongoing presence of Jesus in our world can find much to calm, comfort and strengthen us in times of trial. We can read the Psalms and other sacred scriptures, we can meet and pray with fellow believers, we can attend worship and share in Holy Communion, and we can trust in the God of Abraham who was, who is and who will always be a very present help in times of trouble. David, Paul, Jesus, the prophets and psalmists all knew this – and wrote to us of their experience of how God helped them overcome.
As the Psalmist wrote, let us say to each other and to those around us who are fearful of heart, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Take courage, stand firm, trust that God is a God of the past, present, and of all good things that will be. The God who accompanied David while he was hiding from Saul, the God who accompanied Jesus on his walk to the Cross is the same God who accompanies all of us today. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, remember to stand firm in the knowledge that the LORD is our light, our salvation, and the stronghold of our lives – we need not ever give in to fear. Amen and amen!