Stand Fast

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

My friend Bob has spent many years in a nursing home. He was put there while only in his 50’s. The youngest resident perhaps ever to reside there. Now in his sixties I’m amazed at how he has not lost his fighting spirit. He told me how people there kept telling him to give up, that he would never be able to use the left side of his body that was made all but useless by strokes. They told him he would never get out of there, but he said he will never give up. That God has a purpose for him.

I can tell you when I hear that my lack of courage and faith convicts me. I get discouraged over the stupidest things. I always get my thinking back on track again, but it is surprising how little can knock me over at times.

The verse above admonishes us to ever be ready for battle, and having done everything that depends upon us–to stand fast and trust the rest to God. All we have to do is stand our ground. The battle belongs to the Lord and He will give us the victory.

Troubles come around and around. That is the way of life. My friend Bob suffered strokes that nearly took his life decades ago. He regained most of his functionality and kept going. But the last series of strokes paralyzed the left side of his body and put him in a wheelchair and nursing home. Yet his mind and will is strong and he reminds me that God has kept him on earth for a purpose and I readily agree.

God did not save Bob’s life just on those occasions when strokes almost took him out. Years ago when we were younger men we went fishing at a local lake. My friend Bob was backing his boat and trailer down the ramp to the water while I stood on the dock. Suddenly the Lord told me to pray. I thought it was the strangest thing as I had prayed over our fishing trip the night before. I had also prayed for God to keep us safe that morning. And here God was telling me to pray again. I prayed. Suddenly the boat careened and hit the ramp shoving the boat up into the truck cap which stopped the truck from rolling down the ramp. I was in shock when I went around to the driver’s side of the truck and saw my friend had fallen out of the open door onto the ground, and was nearly run over by his own truck if the boat had not gotten stuck in the truck cap stopping the vehicle.

My friend and I often talk about that event and how God saved his life through prayer. God uses prayer to make things happen. To many people Bob’s life is depressing. Living in a nursing home day after mundane day. Yet God cared enough about him to not only help him survive those many strokes, but also from being run over by his own truck. As Bob says: God has him here for a reason.

God has you here for a reason as well. You may have difficult daily circumstances to deal with, we all do in different ways. Bob’s circumstance is surviving a mundane existence in a nursing home with a disability, but he’s standing fast. Wherever God has put you and whatever the circumstances are you standing fast?

Prayer: Dear Lord, our boat gets rocked by the lightest of winds and we feel unsteady on our feet. But help us, like my friend, to stand fast no matter the weather around us or what circumstances overtake us. Amen.