Steady in the Midst of Upheaval
How can we remain steady in the midst of so much upheaval? As Pr. Tim warned us in an earlier post, we need to guard our hearts as we take in the flood of numbers and statistics coming at us from seemingly all directions – the growth of the illness and the descent of the global economy.
The specter of an unseen enemy has single handedly caused the cancellation of nearly all events and public gatherings across the globe – something few would ever have imagined just last year. It has caused this country to plunge itself 2 trillion dollars further into debt, in order to abate a job loss rate that finds no precedent in recent history.
It would seem that everything is falling apart. Behind all the prevention efforts, the raw human fear remains: what if it doesn’t work? What if I or someone I love gets the illness? What if our economy does not recover?
I want to offer you two contrasting pictures. The first is that of Micah in the book of Judges chapters 17 through 18. If you recall, Micah was a member of the tribe of Ephraim. He built for himself a center of idolatrous worship in his home from a large sum of money that he had originally stolen from his mother. To Micah’s great and “good” fortune, he acquired a Levite as a priest over his household gods. In a moment of sad irony, Micah joyfully exclaimed, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest” (17:13). Things seemed to be going quite well for Micah. His little dwelling became a place on the map, a center for idol worship in the region.
Things changed when the wayward Danites looked with desire upon Micah’s household gods and his aspiring Levite. They swooped down and stole the household idols and the priest. Like Micah at the beginning of the story, they saw themselves as fortunate for such an acquisition. Both the Danites and Micah demonstrate how blind and how far away from God they were. One of the most telling and heart-rending parts of the story is Micah’s reaction. Seeing that all he had was taken away with no hope of return, Micah wailed: “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left?” (18:24).
Micah was a man who lost all that he had trusted in. Everything he feared would happen had happened. Despair was the result.
The other picture is that of Job. You may be familiar with the story behind the suffering that came upon Job. Satan vowed that Job would fall away if God allowed the removal of health and prosperity from his life (Job 1:11). In turn, this tragedy is exactly what God allowed. And, having lost all that was dear to him – children, health, riches – “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”
What accounts for the difference between these two men and their reactions? Both men lost what was dear to them. Both men experienced their greatest fears. Yet, one despaired and the other was steady and hopeful.
The unfolding of the book of Job tells us of God’s sustaining work in Job’s life and of his trust in Him even if no answers were to come and the suffering were to remain (Job 42:2-6). The steadiness of Job was not due to himself, but to God, the one who he worshiped, the one to whom he anchored his trust, while Micah’s trust was in his idols and false priest.
We like Job can have that steadiness, though all that is stable and secure in the experience of our lives be removed (Psalm 46:2-3). In the mist of suffering and danger, there is a source of life and joy that flows directly from God to His people:
4. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
We can face our greatest fears without fear because God is in our midst (v.2,5). We can be still in the mist of turmoil because we know for certain that God will be exalted among the nations; he will be exalted in the earth (v.10). “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (v.11)