Steadfast in the Storm
By Dean Collins
I don’t know the inspiration for Cody Carnes’ worship song, “Firm Foundation (He Won’t),” but his lyrics and melody played in my head as I read Psalm 57. In the refrain of the song, we hear, “Rain came, wind blew, but my house was built on you. I’m safe with you. I’m going to make it through.”
Long before Jesus appeared on the earth, David had already discovered that daily surrender to God and to your calling comes with many challenges.
As much as we know better, we often default to thinking that if I surrender my life to Jesus, then the result will be, or maybe we think should be, just the good lines we know Jesus said. Here are a few, and I will throw in a few from his and our Heavenly Father:
Come to me and I will give you rest.
I am with you always.
Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be given unto you.
I am the light of the world.
Don’t let your heart be troubled.
Peace I leave you.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need.
And every one of these promises are true! But we want them to be true without family problems, the cancer diagnosis, the financial deficit, the job loss, the disability, and personal and world conflicts. The reality is though that scripture never says that we get only the blessings. In fact, all of the promises come with full disclosure that in this fallen world any and every problem imaginable can and often does come.
While David is running and hiding from an angry and jealous King Saul, he writes this beautiful Psalm. He may be hiding in caves but he his refuge is in the Lord: “In the shadow of your wings will I take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”
Literal storms come and eventually go. So do the storms of life. And the gift of the Father’s love promises that he will be with us in and through the storm. And David follows with this sentence: “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose in me.” Did you catch that? God fulfills his purpose in us and through us as he leads us through the storms of life.
We would do well to follow the example of David in this wonderful Psalm. David names many difficulties that he endured that God brought him through: lions, fiery beasts, evil men whose teeth are spears and arrows and tongues are sharp words, and with traps set all around him. Even in the middle of all of this difficulty, David chose to worship God!
Take a minute and think of the challenges you are currently facing. Maybe they are like the ones I am facing. You can’t see the finish line. You don’t know the outcome. You don’t have a clear path. You don’t have a timeline. Yet all of scripture tells us that even in these times, we come to the Lord with thanksgiving and worship.
David ends this Psalm with these words. May they be yours and mine as well, even in the midst of the suffering.
“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”
Father, thank you for waking us up this morning! Thank you for the sunrise. Thank you for your presence and your promises that no matter what is going on in our lives, you are there and you will bring us through every storm. We trust you and we praise you. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! And may the people around us feel our confidence and joy in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Take a moment and be reminded of God’s faithfulness as you listen to “Firm Foundation”: https://youtu.be/lCi6V-SWFYE
Photo by Pexels
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