Photo by Dylan Hargraves on Unsplash

 

I’m remembering who GOD is and how deep and solid He is. God is like a rock. Solid and dependable.

This week, I have had to remember frequently who GOD is. He is a rock when all around can be chaos. He is in control of all that is happening in the world, in our nation, in our family and in our personal lives. He is good. But His definition of what is good isn’t always the same as mine because of who He is and because of His perspective. It is eternal. His perspective is not nearly as short-sighted as mine is. His purposes are different from mine.

GOD is our Rock…what an awesome visual picture of stability during times of instability and unpredictability!

He is our Rock. It is the very picture of stability! During times of instability, we need a Rock to hang onto and gain our footing on. He brings security and safety along with stability. We need Him…more than we even imagine.

I have had some nights and days this week when I have felt nervous about the future. But honestly, He has got it in ways I can’t imagine. I so often want to give my arguments to people as to why they need to do this or that. I yell at the TV, I turn off the TV. I want to state my arguments like a lawyer. But then I realize I am wasting my breath.

Not everyone wants a world that looks like the world I think I want. There are way too many differences all around me. It seems that I tend to stay fairly calm during election season until the very end. But during the last week or so, I get really nervous. It’s as if I think GOD is forgetting what is happening in this tiny part of the universe. Imagine?!

Do I really think GOD is not aware of all that is happening in our tiny part of the universe? Or even my teeny-tiny spot of it?

My head knows He is, but some days my heart doesn’t.

What if this happens? What if that happens? The truth is that GOD is still on His throne and life will go on no matter what scenario plays out. We will learn to trust GOD in new ways. We will lean into Him. It will be good. All of us will grow in our faith and trust in GOD. Right now, we can’t even fathom it, but it will happen. Why? Because it is GOD doing that work in us, not us. He is changing us. Sometimes, He does it through internal changes, at others, the changes are external through the world around us. Most often, it is a combination of the two with the outside changes pushing us to make inward changes as we learn to see the world around us through God’s eyes instead of our own.

GOD is in the changing business. His Holy Spirit is working in us to bring about the changes He has planned for us to make us more like Him.

It’s a work we cannot bring about on our own. He does it. Of course, we must cooperate.

But life events like we have been going through in the last year are what bring earthquakes to change us and make us want to change in ways we never did before.

Think of all the changes that have taken place in your attitudes and in your life since COVID hit! Could you have imagined them happening this time last year? The same will happen as a result of whatever happens from this election, both locally and nationally. We will learn to trust GOD in new ways because He knows what is best. His purposes will be carried out more fully and He will give us courage and strength to live out what it means to be Christians in new and creative ways. Our Christianity will stop being an intellectual exercise and more a practical one. That will be good no matter what happens.

I’m not only referring to the election. I’m thinking of other events going on around us

Am I simply talking about the election coming up next week? No. That is included in my discussion here. But there are plenty of things that are uncertain. We still don’t know how COVID is going to turn out. In some places, it looks like it is going away, then it pops up again. We really don’t know how it will come out in the end. Sadly, many have lost their lives and their health from this awful disease. It seems that more and more people who catch it are getting weaker forms of the disease. It will be good to see our nation get back to normal…whatever that turns out to be.

In our area, public schools will be starting full-time, in-person school tomorrow. They have been going 5 days out of each ten school days. Now it will be 10 out of 10.

Ron is finding some stability that can change in a moment. I enjoy it when I have it. I deal with it when I don’t. We traveled a bit this past month and were able to see our out-of-town grands. One set in September and one set in October. Now we are home and settled back in. We don’t expect to travel again this year.

Are you finding stability in your relationship with GOD?

I hope you are finding some stability in your life. You realize that the stability will come from His side of the relationship, don’t you? Just like His ability to keep the covenants made with us are dependant on HIm. We can try, but we just aren’t able to keep them. The stability in your relationship with God will come from Him, not from your dogged ability to maintain your devotional life, as important as it is. I hope this passage will be encouraging to you as you read it and possibly even memorize it.

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

For who is God, but the Lord?
    And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand supported me,
    and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.

Psalm 18:1-3, 31-36 ESV