PHOTO BY JODIE BRIM
Have you ever stood in front of the guards at Buckingham Palace? You can pull all kinds of shenanigans, but it doesn’t budge them one iota!
Make funny faces. Get all up in their space. Jump up and down like a crazy person. Even throw things at them (no kidding!) . . . they remain immovable and unfazed. Members of the Queen’s Guard know how to stand firm amid whatever crazy surrounds them.
Do you have crazy surrounding you? Of course you do. (If you currently sense any deficit of outrageousness pressing from every side, then you’re not from around these parts. It’s nuts out there!)
The resoluteness of the palace guard illustrates what the Scriptures mean when God repeatedly charges us to STAND FIRM in the midst of life’s turbulence. Maybe this is what it looks like to “be immovable” in our Faith amid relentless attacks.
While everyone and everything else wobbles and waffles, we stand firm! While others change their views on every kind of issue quicker than the hands move on a clock, we hold tight to timeless Truth.
The Apostle Paul urges believers to buckle up for the inevitable turmoil. When it gets hard, don’t morph into what you see around you. Don’t take the easy road and go along to get along. Don’t get squeezed into the mold of this crumbling world system. Instead, “stand firm, stable, and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 tPt)
But how can you STAND FIRM if you don’t have a clue how long it will be before victory comes?
Go with me for a minute. Have you seen those teams rowing together in the Olympics? Eight people sit in the boat with their backs turned to the finish line the whole time. They can’t see the place of victory. They only see their coxswain—the guy facing them, steering with his eye on the finish line. He keeps encouraging them based on what he can see that they can’t. The coxswain yells through each exhausting stroke: “Row harder! You can’t give up now! We’re closer than we’ve ever been! I see the finish line, I see it!”
Friends, Jesus is our coxswain. He’s at the helm and sees it all! He knows where we are and how far to the finish line. We can’t see anything about where we are headed, but we can trust the One who does. Our responsibility is to keep our eyes on Him, our ears open to Him, and ourselves rowing!
In other words, “Look away from the natural realm and focus your attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.” (Hebrews 12:2 tPt).
The Aramaic word for “expectation” implies a gaze upon Jesus full of expectation that He is enough. Friends, He IS more than enough!
Stop trying to look over your shoulder as you push against the waves. Just keep rowing with your eyes upon the One who sees the victory line and gives us everything we need to get there! Friends, we’ve got this and He’s got us! Just keep rowing!
For comments or prayer, contact Dr. Lanier at www.HopeCommunityChurch.tv.
