In Position

It’s not so much what we go through, but how we position ourselves as we go through it.

The other day, my sister-in-law, all the little cousins and I went on a little outing. We weren’t speeding, but we were going a reasonable pace when the dirt road we were on became one pot hole after another. The car turned into a ship on the high seas and if those sweet children hadn’t been strapped in they would have landed on the moon.

My sister’s saucer eyes said it all and the children roared with delight; mouths open wide as they belly laughed and fell about from the thrill and adrenalin rush of that impromptu roller coaster ride. No harm done.

When things get crazy we had better be wearing our belts of truth (Ephesians 6). They will keep us where we need to be. The circumstances might turn unexpected but it’s possible to be held together and even enjoy the ride.

I was hanging a big sleeping bag to dry over the children’s climbing frame the other day. I noticed the moon looking like a giant snowflake in a piercingly clear winter’s sky. Beside the moon burst an explosion of red blossoms belonging to the lucky bean tree reaching up high. So long as I gazed upwards I wasn’t aware of the dog poop on one section of the lawn and the contents of a shredded cushion (thank you puppy) strewn about on the other section. I look to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 121) – When we smell trouble and things get messy, we look up. It doesn’t eradicate the situation on the ground, but it changes everything.

Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart (Psalm 91). The hawks might be hovering but when the chicks huddle under their vicious mama, they are hidden and safe. The battle in the sky becomes a muffled day dream for the ones who rest in the dark warmth until the danger passes.

The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18). The power of His name! The comfort of His presence. The storms will rage and the waves will crash but we don’t have to stand on the rock they are beating against, we can go right in. A lighthouse, a fortress, a shelter from the storm where we are untouched by the elements.

Jesus slept on a boat during a storm once (Mark 4). He showed us how it’s done. His disciples were panicking but He modelled how it looks to be in position.

He is the potter, we are the clay (Isaiah 64). The potter holds the clay right in the centre of the wheel, firm but gentle. When we settle into His purposeful moulding, we are in the eye of the storm where not a leaf flutters. Chaos and drama are not our story even as the wheel spins.

I could never begin to write of all the ways our posture affects the way we make it through. What I do know is that even when God doesn’t change things or appear to answer our prayers, He has a plan. He gives us armour (Ephesians 6) and weapons for war. He makes us invisible. He seats us with Him in the Heavenly realms (Ephesians 2).

We can decide where we will be.