Romans 8:26-39 • Matthew 7:24-25 • Leviticus 11:44-45 • Hebrews 13:5 • John 22:42, 23:43
The Rev. Dr. Israel Ahimbisibwe
In this world we are weak and vulnerable to problems and suffering in different ways. People suffer from loneliness, from disease and sickness, from economic hardships, from natural disasters, from injustice, conflict and war, from pressures to conform to worldly standards – the list is so big and so wide, but suffering is the common denominator. We have recently witnessed the destruction of two Malaysian Airlines jets, each carrying hundreds of people, and just the other day an Algerian plane crushed with no survivors. In the Middle East there is war and destruction involving the death of many children and women.
In light of this vulnerability, there is a lot of meaning for us in today’s collect, which says that God is the protector of all who trust in him and without Whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy. Obviously we would like to understand how this connects with Saint Paul’s statement in his letter to the Romans that says; “If God is for us who can be against us?” Where do these problems and our vulnerability put us, in light of “Nothing can be against you?”
The Collect recognizes that strength and holiness come from God.
What it means to be strong in the Collect’s sense can be understood from the song ‘I AM A ROCK’ by Diane Davis Andrew: “I am a rock, a sure foundation; Base your life on me. I am reality. Come, walk with me.” (Sing Joyfully, The Fishermen, Inc; Pg 15; 1975.)
To be holy in this sense is to be like God when He said, “Be Holy, for I am Holy” (Leviticus 11: 44-45). No one is holy but God, and our holiness is a reflection of His holiness.
On the subject of strength, one time Jesus taught on becoming strong and said, “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock,” (Matthew 7:24 -25).
According to Jesus, to build on a rock, and in this case to be strong like a house built on a rock, is to be a hearing and obeying disciple.
Obedience then becomes the solid foundation to weather the storms of life. Strength therefore comes from obedience.
It is important to listen to what God’s Word says, but it is much more important to obey it and do what it says.
We can measure the effectiveness of our Bible study and meditation time by the effect it has on our behavior and attitudes. At the end of the day one may want to ask this question: How much of what I read showed up in my actions? How much did what I read affect my actions, my attitudes and my behavior? Strength is the ability to do what God’s Word expects us to do or to leave out those things we are expected not to do.
Let us never make a mistake to think that after we have listened to God’s Word and obeyed it we will never face the storms of life. Problems will always be there because that is what it means to be in the world. Some of them announce their presence in form of small breezes, while others unfortunately show up like hurricanes and tornadoes.
But there is not a single storm of life that will ever separate you from God if you have listened and obeyed him. Nothing, not even death!
Do you know why? Because God has already given us his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is above everything that exists in creation, including problems, and everything in this world subject to Him. And because God has given us a Son who is above everything, if we hear Jesus and obey him there is nothing that will stand between us and the love of God that we have in Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:28 is often misunderstood. It says, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
This does not mean that everything that happens to us is good. As long as we live in this world, evil will always be around us and it is not good that we see or experience it. Sometimes I have seen wonderful men and women of God tell others in a crisis that it is the good will of God to have such a terrible experience. I would rather wait to see whether a person in crisis or tragedy shares a conviction that such an experience is the good will of God, otherwise it is not good to attribute everything to God.
What I know is good is that during a time of a crisis, it is very good to keep focused on Jesus and to try to conform to his good nature. Jesus then uses His “above position” to make sure that you are not consumed by the crisis. You may not need to know how this works because there are many things that God does and will always do in His sovereign nature, and not allowing believers to be overwhelmed by loss or bewilderment is one of them. He said He would never leave us or abandon us (Hebrews 13:5). This is true for all phases of life.
I know that when Jesus was praying on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane he was not feeling good – to the extent that his sweat looked like blood. But focusing on God, He said, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will but Yours be done,” John 22:42. Eventually, it was the result of focusing on God and conforming to what He wanted that torture and death on the Cross-could not separate God from Jesus. Even to the last moment he said, “… Into your hands I commit my spirit,” John 23:43.
The Holy Spirit intercedes for believers during moments of crisis. You only need to keep focused on Jesus in the midst of problems, even when your thought patterns are unclear to you. God has always required us to trust and have hope in Him. The moment we believe and trust God, He gives us his Holy Spirit. The relationship between the Holy Spirit and God in our lives is so close that sometimes we may not hear what they are saying.
But that relationship is so close, so strong, that it makes us strong and will never allow anything to separate us from the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus.