“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:58
Being confident in God’s character gives us a foundation of peace and stability in our lives as we follow Christ. As Christians, feelings of exhaustion, despair, loneliness, and frustration can be overwhelming if we don’t daily preach to ourselves to whom we belong. We know God is loving, present, all-powerful, and good. He is Lord over every detail of our lives. Trusting in the Lord’s providence, His protective care, is the key to being unmovable in this unpredictable world. His providence is a protective shield that assures us that every affliction in our lives has been handpicked through His wisdom for our good.
“Do not let ourselves be troubled when we are sometimes beset by adversity, for we know that it is meant for our spiritual welfare and carefully proportioned to our needs, and that a limit has been set to it by the wisdom of the same God who has set a bound to the ocean.” -Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, “Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence”
In 1 Samuel, the Lord told Samuel that Eli’s family’s future was not prosperous. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli, but Eli asked him to hide nothing. After Samuel shared everything, Eli responded with, “‘He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes (1 Samuel 3:18).’”
Eli allowed what he knew about the Lord’s character to inform his perspective and response to his circumstance. We must train ourselves to know God’s character so that when frustration, loneliness, fear, and exhaustion arrive, we can also confidently say, “He is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
In “Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence,” Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure asks, “Do you hesitate to believe that this passing trial is necessary for the health of your soul?” Without recognizing that all things come from a loving God, we allow other possibilities to enter our minds. We can begin to believe that this world is in random order, with no Lord or rule. We can believe that there are multiple powers at play, giving idols more power than they’ve earned or deserve. Or we can fall into the belief that we are lord and that if we try hard enough, we can control our way into stability. But believing any other lord will leave us on unsteady ground, and the sound of perceived bad news will shatter the frail foundation we were standing on. Rather, if you develop a confidence that every trial is sent with love from the true Lord, you will be unmovable.
Knowing who the author of every moment is, the psalmist said in Psalm 39:9, “I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.” Tracing every difficulty back to the Lord can ease our inner grumblings, reframe our perspective, and increase our praise toward Him. We know who He is; He is not a stranger to us. We can trust Him.
Thank the Father for His personal care over every detail of your life. Pray that you will trust Him and that in knowing whom you belong to, you will be unmovable.