BEING STABLE IN TIMES OF INSTABILITY
Although spontaneity can be exciting, I think most of the time we like structure and routine. Unless we're watching a suspenseful movie, we like to know what's expected to happen. We like the comfort of normalcy. But what happens when your normal is turned upside-down? There are many events that could happen in our individual lives to cause this but currently we are dealing with one that has upended all our lives. We' re all having to deal with a new normal. When you look around you see worry, fear and panic. It's important that we don't get caught up in it. What can help us to stay stable in times of instability?
1) Uncertainty fuels instability.
The irony is, we know life is unpredictable but we mainly live in the predictable. There might be minor unpredictable things that happen somewhat regularly but they're nothing too intrusive. And sometimes, they can be good things-like a surprise visit or a sudden blessing.
Since what we would consider to be a major irregular moment comes so infrequently, we don't give it much thought until it happens. But, when they do happen, they can fill us with deep concern. We start playing the "what if" game. What if I lose my job? What if I get the virus? What if we're all quarantined like Italy? The scary thing about these 'what-ifs' is that all these things could happen.
But the problem is, when we continue to play this game it can rule our thinking. And many of the 'what-ifs' we conjure up are predominately farfetched; yet in our minds we make them into a probable outcome. When you have uncertainties and mix them with a fear of the unknown you have the formula for instability.
Unstable means unsteady; insecure. One reason why people are panicking right now is because their security system is being shaken. If I base my security on a job or bank account then I'll panic when these things change. If I'm used to something being predictable for a while and then it changes I can get overwhelmed quickly.
My rock has crumbled; my security blanket has been ripped from my arms. I thought I was secure but I'm not and that's devastating. What am I going to do? Where am I going to turn for help? The answer is the Lord. He will help us to deal with this unstable situation.
Ps. 20:7-8, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm." Whatever we trust in outside of the Lord is insecure; only the Lord is secure. If we trust in him we can be firm and secure.
However, although we who trust in the Lord might not be panic-stricken, we are probably still feeling quite uneasy about the whole Covid-19 thing. What can we do? One thing that will help us to be stable is to know this too shall pass. This new normal we're experiencing is temporary. So we can look forward with anticipation that before long our new norm will become our old past.
But the day when things go back to normal isn't here yet. All we have is what's in front of us and what's in front of us is not too pretty. True, but having something to look forward to can help us to remain stable now.
Another thing we can do is focus on the positives. What is going well, what is still intact, what's going right? Take church, for instance. I could obsess about us not being able to meet in person or I could rejoice that we still have an opportunity to meet. We could focus on the fact that we're all cooped up in the house or we could focus on the fact that we have each other.
If we consume ourselves with what's wrong we won't see what's right. And we should always remember that it can always be worse. This virus doesn't have a high mortality rate. This isn't going to be a permanent factor year-round. We still have jobs, money, food, shelter.
Could this change tomorrow? Sure, but we don't project that things will get worse, we pray that they don't and we focus on what we have today. We have the Lord; which is the main thing. No matter what changes; God remains a constant in our lives. Therefore, his peace, joy, and stability can be a constant presence in our lives. We need to hold onto that. Uncertainty fuels instability but knowing God is there keeps us stable.
2) God is there when we slip.
Psalm 94:18-19, "When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."
When David said, 'my foot is slipping' he's referring to feeling weak in the face of the enemy's strength. In this vulnerable state, he mentions that he was taken off guard and started losing his footing. We can be this way sometimes. Our enemy's power strikes us out of nowhere and we lose our balance; we lose our stability.
We are blindsided; we begin to lose our spiritual footing. We start to fall; we can feel ourselves being taken down. We start to have unhealthy, instinctive reactions to enemy forces. We begin to panic when unwelcomed situations come.
But David said when his foot started to slip, God's love supported him. Other translations word it as, 'held me up'. How many times have you slipped up but you felt the love of God wash over you? What does that do for us? It lift us up and sets us back to right. When we need support, he is there to provide it.
When Peter was walking on water and he started to sink, Jesus was there to pull him up. There's something interesting to note after that happened. Jesus walked out to the disciples on the water. When they realized it was Jesus, Peter had an idea to determine if it was really Jesus.
Matt. 14:28-32, "Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down."
Whenever I've read through this before, I typically glossed over that last sentence. But as I was preparing this sermon the Lord brought something to my attention. How did they get back to the boat? Did Jesus give him a piggy-back ride? Perhaps. But my guess is Jesus made Peter walk back. And notice the wind didn't stop until they got back in the boat. That could have been pretty scary for Peter to have to walk back to the boat. But not with Jesus there with him.
Our current situation may feel as if the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing. And in this storm our faith may be put to the test. Jesus is there but we're not really sure. "If it's really you, Lord, then enable me to walk on water". "Come on", he says. So we do. We take that step of faith and we get out of the boat.
But then we take our eyes off of Jesus and put them back on the wind and waves. We put our eyes on the shaky job situation. We focus on the empty store shelves. We begin to panic over our dwindling food supply. We're upset over not being able to go places or do things. We lose our footing and begin to sink. We're afraid we're going to drown.
We cry out to Jesus for help and he immediately rescues and stabilizes us. "Whew, that was a close one. I'm glad that's over." But then he says, 'now we need to get back to the boat'. "But the wind is still blowing and the waves are still crashing." "I know," he says, "but don't worry, I got you."
When will we make it back into the boat so the wind can die down? I don't know. But the when isn't ours to know so we shouldn't get caught up in predictions. God's with us. We need to be planned and prepared, not panicked and scared.
Back in Psalm 94, we see in vs. 19, that David had anxiety. What? Isn't this the guy who chased after bears and lions when they took one of his sheep? Isn't this the guy who faced the nine-foot-tall warrior, Goliath? Isn't this king David? The warrior king, David? Sure is. This shows that the best of them can fall prey to anxiety.
If we allow our minds to run wild we can get caught up in the 'what ifs', the projecting and the worst-case scenarios. Anxious thoughts. We know we shouldn't be anxious but knowing that even someone like David got anxiety will help us to not beat ourselves up over it. But we still need to deal with it.
Have you ever wondered why a horse is kept in a stable? A stable gives the horse security. A stable keeps the horse from getting loose. We need to be kept from getting loose and letting our thoughts run wild. David said God's consolation brought joy to his soul. This has also been worded as, tranquilizing my spirit. If an animal is too wild or potentially dangerous they are tranquilized so the vet or trainer can work on them. Sometimes we need to be tranquilized so God can work on us.
When we think of stable words like steady, firm, unwavering and secure come to mind. These are correct, but stable also means calm. Think of how being consoled works to calm us down when we're upset. Whether it's a soothing voice or a mellow song, there are things that help us relax.
That's what God wants to do. When we're anxious we need to allow the Holy Spirit to calm us down so his joy, comfort, peace and strength can take over. God's love and consolation is there to relieve us when we're anxious and rescue us when we slip.
3) God is enough.
When you read the book of Job you realize a bulk of it is the exchanges that take place between Job and his "friends". One thing we should be careful of is making sure we don't dismiss everything his friends said. We feel that since they were wrong about Job their words are meaningless, but that's not true. What they say is true, they're just not true in Job's case.
Their words are recorded in scripture not just to teach that we shouldn't be presumptuous, but to also give us valuable insights into things. When you study what Job's friends say just on the basis of what they said rather than on their err in judgment about Job, you can come away with some good lessons.
In Job 15, Eliphaz is responding to an emotionally charged discourse from Job. Again, he and Job's other friends are going on the false premise that Job's suffering is stemming from sin that he's unwilling to repent from. But if we take Eliphaz's words by themselves we see something we need to take to heart when we're dealing with things like fear, anxiety, worry and anger.
Job 15:11-13, "Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you? Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?"
Eliphaz is wondering why Job would continue to be upset when God has spoken gently to him to try to console him (in this case through him and his friends). Although Eliphaz's words are inaccurate in regards to Job, they are valid words, nonetheless.
2nd Cor. 1 calls God the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Yet when things happen, many people do not feel comforted by God. Why is that? They're angry with him. "You vent your rage against God". I won't see God as compassionate if I feel it's all his fault. I can't be comforted by God when he didn't meet my expectations. I won't be consoled by God when he didn't do what I wanted him to in my time frame.
Knowing God is trying to console people in their misery, why is that not enough to some people? One reason is they only hear God when he's "shouting". "Words spoken gently to you". Remember when God presented himself to Elijah? How did he do that. In the fire? No. In the earthquake? No. God presented himself in a gentle whisper.
Elijah picked up on that, but many people wouldn't; they only think of God presenting himself in a strong, powerful way. They're not looking for God to whisper. Thus, they have the wrong idea of who God is and how he operates. They miss the comforting, gentle whisper of God because of how they view God.
They don't really give God a chance, they turn to some other method for consolation. New age practices, alcohol, pills, drugs, food, smoking, whatever helps to 'calm' them down. So, instead of listening to God's gentle words and being consoled by them, they quickly turn to something inferior that will ultimately fall way short of being able to give them the stability they crave.
During times of instability, God is there to stabilize us. He will use himself, his word and his people to help us through the difficult times in our lives. In unstable times God is enough to keep us stable.
4) Stability during instability.
Isa. 32:17-20, "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free."
Earlier in vs. 9 and following, Isaiah chastises those who weren't following God for being complacent yet feeling secure. He went on to talk about how things were going to change. Their crops and vineyards would stop producing and their land would become a desolate wasteland.
Then in vss. 17-20 he provides the contrast for those who are God's people. But notice that even though God's people are at peace they still have to deal with the fact that the hail has flattened the forest and the city is completely leveled. Yet despite this, God's people are blessed. They live in peace, quietness and confidence.
This is security; this is stability. The world is falling down around me but I'm still at peace. I'm not oblivious or in denial, I'm aware of what's happening. But because my confidence is placed in God, I can live in peace, love and harmony. Living righteously bears the fruit of peace. The effect of peace is being calm and confident in times of turmoil. This enables me to see how blessed I am.
Phil. 4:4-9, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
There is a lot here that pertains to our current situation. First, we see our need to rejoice. And when he says always, this includes during a pandemic; even if you have the virus! Paul says it twice in case you weren't sure if he really meant it.
Then he says we need to let our gentleness be evident to all. With people edgy and short-tempered, how much of a testimony is it for them to see us display a calm, gentle spirit?
Then Paul says, 'the Lord is near'. Not only is the Lord not absent, he's close by; he's right there with us. So there's no reason to be anxious about anything.
Paul tells us to keep our prayer lives going. This is key to being stable in times of instability. Keep that communication line open to God. We need to be praying for the health, safety and well-being of others. We need to thank him for all he has done. In doing so, the peace of God will guard us against anxiety and panic.
And instead of focusing on the negative, we focus on the positive things that are still there. But we may need to look for them. The lovely, excellent and praiseworthy things might not be as obvious since the gloom of the pandemic could easily cloud our view of all things pure and noble.
Paul ends with telling us we need to put godliness into practice. We need to continue in our righteous living, regardless of what changes are happening in our lives. And we need not worry, because God will be with us.
