‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage’. Gal 5 vs 1
I remember as a child going on a family day out with my grandparents. There was great excitement as my grandfather had made a kite and we were going out to fly it. My older brother was allowed to go first and we all watched in amazement as the kite soared into the air. After much persuasion the grown ups finally gave in and let me have a turn. I was given an endless list of instructions and told repeatedly “whatever you do, just hold on tight, even if it pulls a little, don’t let go.” You probably already know the end to the story! There was a big gush of wind, the kite rose high into the air, the strings tightened and I thought I was going to be transported halfway across the world so I panicked and let go of the kite and it shot off into the sky, disappeared into the a nearby forest, never to be seen again! What I learnt that day was that holding on is not easy. Even standing still can be difficult. Just watch any toddler in a queue. It’s practically impossible. So if standing still in the natural is so hard for us, how can we be expected to stand fast when it comes to spiritual issues? Surely we are just setting ourselves up to fail and we are going to end up being pulled in all directions unable to hold on and stay strong.
The answer is, of course, that the Lord is not expecting us to have it all together. He knows how easily we can fall and how our best efforts often fail. So what exactly is he asking us to do when he exhorts us to stand fast. The original word here is “steko”, which means to be stationary, or to be still. This stillness is echoed for us in Psalm 46 where we read “be still and know that I am God.” The Hebrew word for “still” here is “harpu,” meaning to let go, to surrender or to relax. It comes from the root word “rafa” which means to rest. As we pull all this together can we get a clearer picture of what the Lord is saying to us when he calls us to stand fast. Rather than our self -effort and our determination to hold our ground, the Lord is showing us a much simpler and easier way that does not depend on our performance but relies solely on his grace. He does not want us to “grit our teeth” and “hold on come what may,” as He knows that everything will eventually come crashing down around us because we can never stand firm in our own ability. What the Lord wants us to do is let go and surrender, relax and sink into his arms. He wants us to know that he is holding us as we settle ourselves, as we remain stationary and are still we can actually have confidence that we are sinking into his grace.
As Galatians 5:1 tells us - ‘Christ delivered us into freedom’. We no longer have to carry the weight and burden in life. He has taken all the responsibility on his shoulders and we can enjoy a life knowing that we no longer need to be in control. We can rely instead on the fact that the Lord is taking care of us. All our failures from the past are covered by his grace through the blood of Jesus and our tomorrows are secure because he is going before us, and preparing good days for us to enjoy. So right in this moment we can be still, we can be stationary, trusting and believing that as we let go and surrender he is giving us the grace and strength that we need for our hearts to be at peace and rest.
Please remember to share this daily devotion with your friends, and if anyone wants to receive ‘Grace for Today’ directly then please just sign up via our website at www.exchangechurchbelfast.com
Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021