Stand Firm

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV)

What a joy to get to watch the children enjoy Vacation Bible School last night! There was so much excitement and so many smiles and a ton of laughter! One of my favorite parts was watching them learn new songs with actions.

I loved one song in particular, that repeated the phrase, "Stand firm when things change." That really resonated with me, because there is a lot of change going on in the lives of people I love... some good... some not so good... and some just facing the unknown. Any way that change comes, standing firm in our faith is important.

You can see the difference in the lives of those who don't have that firm foundation of faith. When change comes, they have nothing to hold onto. They almost seem to be "whisked away" by the changing tides of life. And if we can be certain of anything, it is that life WILL change.

That phrase, "stand firm" intrigued me and I wondered in what book and verse of the Bible I would find it. So I did a search. It turns out "stand firm" can be found in 33 different verses and in both the Old and New Testaments. In only 2 or 3 verses does it talk about God's word standing firm. The rest of them talk about us standing firm in our faith... through change, through attacks, through storms. Often in these verses we are given an "if/then" scenario. "If" you stand firm, "then" you will persevere. Or "then" you will be delivered. Or "then" you will win life.

Standing firm in faith doesn't mean we won't have bad days. Change is scary, even when it's good change. But knowing that God is walking through that change with us makes all the difference in the world. We know that no matter what, we will continue with a purpose for our lives. We know we can still love and and find joy and live in peace. These are the real treasures of our lives and if we stand firm, no one can ever take those things from us.

Father,
Help us to stand firm through life's changes, whether they are good or bad or just unknown. May we be ever mindful of your presense throughout our changes. Amen.

Joys: Cecelia's excitement about VBS; Fun time with "the girls" on Saturday; music