HOW TO STAND FIRM

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t know about you but these past few years have been rough. Really rough.

Although I have had my personal times of walking through the valley, I can’t remember too many times in my life when we, as a collective nature, have experienced great hardship together.

First, we had the advent of massive division across our country, politically and racially.

Then, we ended up dealing with a massive pandemic the likes of which had not happened in my more than sixty years of living. This further served to isolate us from one another as we sought to avoid infection and sickness.

As we seemed to be seeing some daylight, emerging from the dark times of the pandemic, we end up with Russia deciding to invade Ukraine in what was an unprovoked and undeserved attack on a sovereign nation. It put the world on edge, especially NATO nations in Europe that bordered on Ukraine.

This invasion caused ripple effects across the world as gas prices soared in our nation and supply chains were disrupted, triggering shortages of vital items, and escalating food costs that are still rising. People who were just meeting ends meet before this were placed in a position of financial extremis and there isn’t any sign things are going to get better soon.

All this leaves us wondering, what’s next? Our confidence is shaken as we find our foundations shaken, leaving us on unstable ground.

As we turn to our scriptures today, we find Paul writing words to the church in Corinth who were dealing with their own internal and external challenges. His words not only served to bring them hope in their circumstances back in first century A.D. but they also resonate with believers today who are facing challenges of their own. Here’s what Paul wrote:

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

How do you stand firm when the world is putting you on shaky ground?

You keep your faith in God who will help you “stand firm in Christ”, the Christ through which you can do all things via His strength (Philippians 4:13).

Paul gives us three reasons why we should and can stand firm in God.

First, God has anointed us.

The word “anoint” actually is derived from the Greek word, chriō, which means to consecrate or set apart. Therefore, you can think of the word “anoint” in this sense as God making us holy as He is holy and in doing so, setting us apart from the world. And if God has shared His holiness with us and set us apart, then we have His special presence and power with us. This should carry with it the assurance and confidence to stand firm because in having the Lord with us and for us, we have the most potent ally possible, no matter what life brings.

Second, Paul reminds us that God has put His seal of ownership upon us. He is our Maker and our Master. We belong to Him and Him alone.

This puts us in a special place, children of a Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us deeply. And like any good parent, God watches over us and provides for what we need in any and every life circumstance. This is an assurance that helps us stand form in the Lord.

Finally, Paul tells us that God has “put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”.

What does the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our hearts guarantee?

Eternal life, of course, the blessed assurance of the life to come, the life free from all the afflictions of this world.

I don’t know about you but this promise of everlasting life given to me by God through His Son Jesus is what allows me to stand firm the most. I can get through anything in life, whether it be division or a pandemic or armed conflict between nations or adverse changes to the economy, all because I know my future and who has guaranteed it to be the best life ever.

Yes, life is very hard, so much so sometimes that we wonder if we can get through it. But that’s why we need to blessing and power of God’s word, a word that never leaves us void, a word that brings us direction, comfort, hope, and peace, anytime we read it.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His word.

Thanks be to God for the promises in His word that He always keeps.

And thanks be to God for helping us stand firm when the storms of life rage around us. He is our sure foundation, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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