“If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all” Isaiah 7:9b
A few weeks ago, my husband and I got up early to hike to the waterfalls. I took my camera – and my sweet husband is so patient with that. My camera makes me slow down and see what God has for me – the blessings He leaves for me in the daily.
I stood across from this herron for a while – well, I literally stalked the herron. When I turned away to take other pictures, he seemed so disappointed to have lost his audience that he flourished his plummage for me. It was as though he wanted to recapture my attention – and he did.
The trip to the falls gave me a twinge of guilt, though. So does coffee with friends. So does the cardinal darting in front of me. How can I enjoy the blessing God leaves for me when the world is set with fires?
I’ve been silent on my blog about what’s going on in the world lately – silent on the shootings going on in communities, silent on the lack of honesty/integrity/God-principles in government, silent on words being redefined – words like marriage and is, and silent on the horror of babies brutally killed and dismembered in what God designed to be the safest place of all – a mother’s womb.
I’ve always wondered how the German people remained silent in a country systematically murdering its Jewish population. Maybe it was the threat that they would be murdered, too – but that doesn’t make silence right – silence for self-preservation at the expense of others.
There’s a lot of judging, a lot of tossing around about privilege – who has it, who doesn’t – and the stench of it – because that is the intent of the label – to make one feel like they stink somehow, that they are tainted, not good-enough, their faith and Jesus in them not good enough.
I’ve wondered what I am to do in the midst of so much going wrong. I vote for those whose who stay they are going to restore – and they don’t. I volunteer. My husband and I shepherd our family to love all people, pray for those who struggle, to stand up for their beliefs and protect the hurting. I try to Jesus-love those who cross my path – because I realize that those are the ones God gave me to encourage. I even try to expand that path into out of the way places.
I don’t know how to address all this. I don’t know how to fix all this. I’m tempted to try to put all the fires out – running from one fire to another, throwing on debate, ideology and fight like water. Running around in circles trying to put out all the fires is ineffective, though. You know how it is – when you try to do everything, you end up achieving nothing, to a chorus of people telling you that you’re doing it all wrong?
All I can do is all I’m called to do: To love the Lord God with all my heart, mind and soul. To love my neighbor as myself – and to stand firm in faith to the one who created me.
I stand firm in who I am to Him:
I am the daughter to His father.
I am the sister my brother died for.
I am the lost sheep the shepherd left all others to search for.
I am the beloved bride.
With great position comes great responsibilities – this being a daughter of the King is not a cushion-sitting, hand-waving-from-a-balcony kind-of-job. It’s hands-on, heart-to-heart kind-of-job that can be both uncomfortable and liberating.
Go find my sheep, he says – and I go.
Love your neighbor – and I try to find a way, whether it is through words or actions.
To those shaken by the storms, I am to bring them to him, to tuck them beneath the warmth and security of His wing.
Sometimes, I am to just stand with another as they wait for the eagles to lift them out of their battle.
I must always be ready to share the living water, like a glass over-flowing, with I meet on the daily path.
Love makes a feast out of want, sits with the sinners and tells about how much God loves them, cleans out the temple in righteous anger, champions those who cannot fight for themselves.
As He has counted the hairs on my head, so am I to know and care for others, to value them as He values me. – even those living as orphans who don’t realize their father is looking for them.
No – I don’t know how to fix the heart-breaking wrongs going on today. All I can do is to stand firm in faith – of his promises, his commission, and who we both are to him.
Firm faith prevents us from running around like a chicken with its head off. Firm faith gives direction when the world shouts, “Fire.” Firm faith gives peace of who we are to Him in a world that accuses us of being who we aren’t.
As the world, the nation, our communities struggle today with right and wrong, with justice and injustice – as people argue and point fingers, accusing you of being someone you aren’t, receive the blessings God leaves in the daily – welcome them, rejoice in them and stand firm in who you are – stand firm and love – it’s never wrong. It never fails. It brings hope a world catching fire.
Powerful words, Maryleigh, that I resonate with as well. I don’t want to waste my time putting out “fires”–because in many ways that is the Lord’s job to do. But that does not mean I can sit back while the world burns and turns from Him. I have been praying more than ever about what God would have me do and asking Him to give me opportunities–getting myself out of my comfort zone as well. Thanks for your passion and truth here, my friend! Your truth proclaimed and heart ablaze for the Lord are making a difference!
I hear you, Maryleigh! I too have struggled with how to respond to so many areas of such high emotional controversy…how to wade into the discussions without being immediately discarded as representing someone’s opposing side.
It’s hard to know the right thing to do in days such as these.
And yes, you are right. The best response is to simply continue being who Christ has called us to be.
Thank you for sharing!
What a gentle breeze your words are–a gentleness so needed in a day when the responses often seem so loud and unproductive. Thank you for these encouraging words of truth.
I found myself nodding in agreement as I read your words in this powerful post. I do believe we are to pray for our leaders. Sometimes for me, that can be challenging when I don’t agree with their decisions. I know that the Lord has given me a circle of influence. I pray that I would be a witness for Him as I live and breathe. May our love for others despite our differences be a magnet as we share Jesus.
Blessings and love,
Debbie
Hi Maryleigh! I was feeling much like you this morning. I was reading the newspaper (I still like to hold a paper in my hands), and came across an article that just blew me away.
There’s a woman who is an ‘abortion doula’, and takes great pride in holding the hands of the women undergoing the procedure. Speechless. I’m just speechless. I put my head in my hands and just mourn for our society. What can I do about this craziness?
You are right to say that we have a lot of responsibility to act. To be the authentic, Christian, loving people we are called to be. Putting our trust in the Lord that He will direct us, and bring the right people to the right places takes oceans of faith, doesn’t it? Lord: Come soon. Come to our aid. Use us as You will.
Blessings,
Ceil
Sometimes we are not called to say anything at all, but to just be – be the people God has called us to be and act with love towards those who cross our paths and who are in our daily life. Because relationships – those are where I see God really moving.
Author Ann Lamott wrote toward the end of her book, Bird by Bird, that a light house doesn’t run all around looking for a boat to save, it just stands there shining. I love that. There’s truth and beauty in bravely surrendering to shine in the lives we’re giving. Don’t feel guilty for doing the things that help you shine best.