And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Micah 5:4 KJV
This verse ticks all the boxes for me.
Jesus. Check. It’s always about Jesus.
Stand. Check. Finding verses about standing in the LORD encourage me.
Feed. Check. Who doesn’t like food? And what does this word really mean here?
Strength. Check. Especially the LORD’s strength. One can’t go wrong holding onto this.
Majesty. Check. The majesty and glory of His name is great. Awesome. Powerful.
Abide. Check. One word that stops me quick whenever I read it.
Great. Check. The greatness of our God in overwhelming.
Yes, this verse spoke to me like a balm from Gilead. As I allowed the promise to sink deep this morning, I walked away with one thought – we have a High Priest who identifies with us.
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15
Praise God for this identification we have in Jesus. He understands, He gets it and He still chooses to walk with, stand with, and abide with us.
I’ve written about standing/abiding/remaining/enduring before, but when I see a new verse with at least one of these words I pause. These words basically mean the same thing with their own individual nuances. But they can in many instances, be interchanged with each other. Rather makes for convicting reading.
Endure in me and I will endure in you. John 15:4
My Bible does not have it written this way – it uses remain – but the meaning is the same.
Remain and abide are sweet words. So poetic, lovely, picturesque.
Endure? Not so much.
Endure speaks to the daily grind. Hard work. Coping. Bucking up, affliction. Pain.
Knowing that Jesus stands in endurance with me keeps me going, every day. I cannot do this without Him.
In the last two weeks I’ve had to work through tough information about the feet. When I asked Coach last week how bad they were when I first came in on September 30, 2020 – they were bad. Very bad. (Obviously or I wouldn’t be in this affliction 2.5 years with no true end in sight!! Well, Coach assures me it will end, he just won’t give me a date.)
It took my breath away realizing how devastating this injury has been. I must disassociate myself from reality because last time I checked I have lived every moment with these things and have lost countless hours of sleep, don’t drive very much, etc. Why could I not figure this out for myself???
Denial. Hopeful. Naïve.
A fun trip to Disneyland changed my life forever. Who knew that one stolen day would alter so much? If I stay in this thought it is overwhelming, but if I push through the cave to recognize the tunnel, then I can see Jesus standing with me. The majesty of God’s glory.
His majesty. His indescribable Presence. Oh to have a picture of this scene – we have glimpses in Scripture for sure, but God is purposefully vague, I believe in part, so we have to walk by faith and not sight (2 Corinthians 5:17). Allowing God to speak to me as I meditate on His majesty makes it more real somehow. It gives me a longing for heaven and His throne. It motivates me to know Him here, so I’ll be at home, there.
It's when I take my eyes off self that I am able to behold His majesty. And I have my Friend with me. Jesus is with me in this beholding. We are looking at our Father, together. This is richly satisfying. It gives meaning to life, causes me to desire to please God (Ephesians 5:10) and keeps me in the yoke (Matthew 11:28-30) and on the altar (Romans 12:1).
I am not so quick to walk away – even though I have firmly declared I am through. Finit. Done. Over it. Tired. Exhausted. People in my place take their own lives. Yes, folks, this is true. Coach told me so when I asked the outcome for those with this type of affliction. He doesn’t really know because they are not around.
This information causes me to pause.
Praise God for His enduring Son. One who stands by me, firmly and in love holding my hand as we behold together the majesty of God. I can remain here in this. I can keep going because my hand is held firmly in the nail-pierced hand of my Saviour. I can say yes to God’s will even though my whole being screams the opposite. I too can endure.
It's not my strength after all. It is Jesus. He is my strength. He is my strong tower. And I am helped when I run to Him. I can go from strength to strength (Psalm 84:7) because I am going from Jesus to Jesus – as in a chain link. When I let go of one link, the other is right there. When I let go, as is want to happen in my stubborn heart, I need not fear for Jesus is the next link.
PRAYER
Oh Father, my heart can be so troubled and fickle at times. But You never change. You are steadfast and loving. You are compassion. You are holy and good. You hold my hand and lead me to gaze at the Son as we behold You. Thank You for giving me what I need. The abiding love that anchors me. In the Name of Jesus, Your Son. AMEN.
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