Stability and Our Everlasting God

A while back I wrote about waiting upon God for our strength. More recently I've been learning about stability in the teachings of St. Benedict and it seems like a continuation or a practical guide in being able to wait upon the Lord no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

Saint Benedict says, "The one thing we can hold onto is the certainty of God.  Our stability is a response to that promise that reassures us that He is faithful and that we should never lose hope in His mercy" (Rule of Benedict 4.74).

Jane Tomaine, the author of St. Benedict's Toolbox, says that "In a nutshell, stability is the action of staying put, remaining steadfast and faithful to the situation in which God has placed us."  So often we try to change our circumstances rather than embrace them and trust that God is working in them according to His perfect will.  If things don't go the way we want them to, we tend to think that something is wrong or that we need to abandon ship in one way or another, whether that be in a job, a relationship, or our spiritual life.  Our culture says keep your options open, don't get tied down, if it doesn't work out your way just cut your ties and move on.  Instead, Benedict's challenge is to see your circumstances as the place God has for you, and to truly be present in those circumstances, whether they are desirable to us or not.  In our self-centered, individualistic culture, we need to remind ourselves that it might not always be about what we're getting out of it, but rather what we can give in a situation.  "Stability is staying put there, knowing that Christ is at our side to help us."  That is where our faith is tested and refined. That is where real strength rises from. 

 

I shared the song Everlasting God by Brenton Brown at the end of that post I mentioned. I came across Lincoln Brewster's version of this song and thought it was really great.  There's a great momentum and enthusiasm in it I think, and sometimes we need some help to get to that place in the midst of practicing stability and waiting upon God.  When you find yourself in that place of annoyance, pain, doubt, confusion, challenge; hum that catchy line as a reminder "strengh will rise as we wait..."  The coolest part of this song for me is at the end where his son (I think) reads from God's Word from Isaiah, where the lyrics to the song come from. The faith of a child put to music.  I pray that you are waiting upon God for your strength today and filled with a passion for His glory.   

 

Today is the Day

Many of you are probably familiar with the verse from Psalm 118:24 that says, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."  I know there's a song from back in the day that uses this passage, but I'm not too keen on playing it to be honest.  However, Lincoln Brewster just released an album called "Today is the Day," and the title track also uses this scripture, and I like this one.  I'll even share a video of it with you if you read the rest of this post.

So I've been studying the Wesminster Shorter Chatechism recently and I just read a chapter on the question, "What are the decrees of God?"  And the answer given is, "The decrees of God are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass."  In summary, everything that happens is part of God's plan that existed before "the beginning," because He isn't constrained to time.  There is no "chance," there are no "accidents," there is nothing that happens that surprises God or causes Him to have to adapt His plan.  Yes this subject gets into predestination, but I don't think that should be a stumbling block for anyone.  As the author of this book says, "we cannot say that human persons are treated as pawns on a chessboard."  So there is always choice, it just that God already knew the choices we would make and thus its part of the plan.

It has been neat for me to couple this answer in the chatechism with the passage in Psalm 118 and know that we can get up each day and rejoice in the fact that God has made this day. Rejoice that everything is going according to His infinitely wise plan, even when it seems like the the world is falling apart.  Rejoice that it is all foreordained for His glory, which is what we should be all about.  Rejoice because He is good, and if you're in Christ, His plan means that you get to enjoy His glory forever.  So take Him at His word, and thank Him for today and ask Him to help you live for His glory and to enjoy Him.  Maybe this song can help you get into that mindset.