Friday, March 23, 2012

I Will Not Be Moved, I Will Not Be Shaken

I know it's only March and spring has just officially begun, but I can't help but think of Ponca Bible Camp, one of my favorite places in the entire world, especially during the summer. One of my favorite times at camp is the worship/singing part of the daily chapel services. I absolutely love listening to and watching the kids sing their lungs, and hearts, out to God. One of my favorite songs has the line, "I will not be moved, I will not be shaken." The kids wiggle and make all kind of weird, sporadic movements; then, they get to this line and jump up. When they land, they freeze and shout out, "I will not be moved, I will not be shaken." I love the energy and the visual picture of how we are firmly rooted and grounded on Christ, our Rock.

My life verse/passage is Psalm 62. David writes (in verses 5-8),
"I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My salvation and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O, my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge."
After reading Holly's update about Baby Samuel and Grace's special request that we pray for peace and rest, my mind has been returning to these verses and I keep singing the line, "I will not be moved, I will not be shaken," over and over and over again.
I have thought, too, all various other places in Scripture where God speaks of peace and rest.
Philippians 4:6, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Isaiah 26:2-4, "Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace those who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is an eternal rock."
Psalm 4:8, "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe."
Romans 15:13, "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
And being in Romans, I couldn't help but think of another "famous" Ponca song. Romans 16:19 says, "And the God of peace will soon crush Satan." As the song goes, "Yes, God will crush him underneath your feet," and then you jump up, turn around, and come crashing down on Satan. Those are the motions to the song, and as I do them, I have to picture Satan as a little bug who gets squashed and smashed and totally obliterated as our feet come stomping down on his tiny head. And just to "rub it in his face," I like to twist my foot a little, for good measure.
Oh how I pray that God will soon crush Satan and show him who's boss! What better way to do that, at least in part, then by healing Baby Samuel. That's right, Satan, God is in control here. He's the Great Physician, the Mighty Healer, and you can't stop Him, no matter what you try to do. Our God is the God of the Impossible, for nothing is too hard or difficult for Him, not even EEG's that show no sign of brain activity. If God can raise someone from the dead, I am more than sure that He can handle this itty bitty hiccup (sure, it doesn't seem itty bitty to us, but we have to remember that God is in charge and nothing has caught Him off guard or surprised Him in the least).
And as God crushes Satan, He Himself will be magnified, proving to the world who He is and bringing massive amounts of glory to His name. As Psalm 46:10 promises, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth." While this verse doesn't actually have the word peace in it, I am pretty sure that is what "being still and knowing that God is God" is all about.
Grace mentioned that God has kept brigning this verse to her mind, over and over again. He has also reminded her that this peace should lead her to praise Him. Another passage that has been on her heart is Isaiah 61:1-3, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory."
If I were in Grace's place, I think I would focus on the "beauty from ashes and mourning turned to joyous blessing" part. BUT, Grace specifically told Holly that she wanted all of us prayer warriors to focus on PRAISING God for what He has already done: her quick recovery, the improvements that Samuel has shown, and for the hearts that are being changed as a result of Samuel's story. This brings me back to Philippians 4:6, "Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done."
And so, I am asking you to do just that: praise God for what He has done thus far. Of course, Brian and Grace would still greatly appreciate prayers for their son's complete and total healing! They continue to wait on the Lord for this miracle and certainly need our prayer support as they do. A song lyric they have been singing over and over again is, "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord," taken from Isaiah 40:28-31.
Philippians 4:7 goes on to remind us that after we have thanked God for what He has done, "you will experience God's peace." I think that this peace-that-passes-understanding goes hand in hand with strength, a strength that comes from a God who "never grows weak or weary" and thus enables us to "soar high on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint."
David put it perfectly in Psalm 29:11,
"The Lord gives His people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace."
As we are filled with God's peace and given new strength, may we be reminded that with Christ as our Rock, we will not be moved and we will not be shaken! May God be exalted and Satan crushed to smitherines as we keep on praying for Baby Samuel and praise God for all that He has done and will continue to do!

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