How to win life’s battles (4)

Stand firm. Notice what God told Jehoshaphat: ‘Stand firm’ (2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV). What does it mean to ‘stand firm’ when you’re in a crisis? It’s a mental attitude of quiet confidence that says, ‘I’m going to trust God.’ One pastor writes: ‘This is something I’m slowly learning; it’s never God’s will for me to run from a difficult situation. If I do, the situation will only follow and catch up with me a little further down the line. It may not look the same, but it will be the same. Why? Because God wants to teach me that He is sufficient for any problem. If we don’t learn this today, we may learn it next week. If we don’t learn it next week, we may learn it next year. But eventually we’ll learn it – and the sooner the better. We can save ourselves problems by standing firm and waiting on God in quiet confidence.’ So what do we stand firm on? ‘Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful’ (v. 20 NIV). First, we need to stand firm on the character of God. God is faithful, and we can depend on Him. Second, we need to stand firm on the writings that He has given us through His prophets – in other words, the truth of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word, and we need only rely in quiet confidence on His written promises. So the word for you today is: stand firm on the unchanging character of God and the unchanging promises of His Word.

Prayer Point

When everything around me is changing, I praise and thank You, Lord, that You are constant, my anchor when life gets rough, and my firm foundation when things are unsteady. Help me to root myself in You so firmly and so deeply that nothing can shake me. Help me to stand strong in every storm I’ll face, safe in the knowledge that I can trust You completely.

Warren, Rick, God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions (Grand Rapids, MI; Zondervan, 2006), 116-117.