Daily Affirmations - Day 4 - Take Up Your Positions - Stand Firm
Day 4: Stand Firm
For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
O Lord our God, You are our shelter, our safe place, our Rock of refuge. You Yourself have declared, "Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one” (Isaiah 44:8).
By contrast, all around us is nothing but sinking sand.* We are surrounded by slimy pits, bogs, quagmires, cesspools of evil and deceit. We have no help from the arm of flesh— nations, powers, governments, institutions— all alike are splintered reeds... which... pierce the hand of anyone that leans on [them] (Isaiah 36:6).
We live in a time when the wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race (Psalm 12:8). Corrupt thrones and powers flourish, bringing on misery by their decrees (Psalm 94:20). The jubilant wicked crow all around us: They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush Your people, Lord; they oppress Your inheritance. They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless (Psalm 94:3-6).
We wonder, as the psalmist did, Where is the justice? Where is the help? Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? (Psalm 94:2-3). And yet, Lord, You promise us that You will keep the needy safe, and will protect us forever from the wicked (Psalm 12:7). You reassure us that “with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chronicles 32:8).
Triune God, You alone are help for the helpless, hope for the despairing heart, deliverer for the embattled and besieged. The psalmist concluded, "Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, “My foot is slipping,” Your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought me joy" (Psalm 94:17-19).
Help us to so trust You. Keep us from fear, from discouragement, from retreat. Give us the confidence to know that the Lord will be with us and that the battle is not ours, but God's. Give us the courage to go out to face them, to take up our positions, as a people who believe You, who look to Your power, and Yours only (2 Chronicles 20:15,17).
Steady our hearts and minds so that we stand firm on Jesus, the only sure foundation (Isaiah 28:16, 33:6). May we trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal (Isaiah 26:4).
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