Stand Firm

The words Flight cancelled flashed in red on the teleprompter.  A winter storm in Chicago was preventing my connecting flight to Greensboro.  The agent offered me a flight from Denver to Charlotte.  Gratefully, I accepted her offer and gleefully boarded the plane.  My schedule was back on track until I arrived in Charlotte only to realized I had no transportation or keys to my house 10 miles away.

It was the late 1990’s and my cellphone had a whopping 30 minutes of airtime.  I used my precious few minutes to call my dad’s bag phone and leave a message. And another message. Then a third message.  I was locked outside my graduate school home with no keys, in the cold and with the only other homeowner’s house I knew vacantly quiet.   I needed my keys, my car and a safe  place to lay my head with the approaching darkness.

My father eventually came to my rescue and I was grateful.  He proceeded to share a few words of wisdom I have yet to forget.  “Dana, when you find yourself in a predicament, unsure of what to do, sit down and drink a Pepsi. Take a moment and think about your options.  With some decisions you’ll need a day. Big decisions will  need 3 days.” Initially, I laughed at the absurdity of drinking a Pepsi to solve my problems. Later, I clung to the wisdom of taking a moment to weigh my options.

I have had to take my fair share of “moments” in 2020 and 2021.  Moments to pause and consider my options.  Life is fickle. Ironically, that is one thing that has stayed the same for centuries.

As Jesus made is intentional and triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds cheered and sung His praises.

“Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John 16: 13)

Yet, five days later the same crowds shouted,

“Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Talk about fickle.  My head is spinning. I imagine the disciples needing a Pepsi, a moment. A moment to collect their thoughts and weigh their options.  Who is Jesus? Who are we?  What do we believe?   In less than one week, everything changed.  Their world flipped upside down.  This world tested their beliefs.  The devil attacked their faith and sifted them as wheat just as Jesus predicted he would. (Luke 22:31)

Jesus was busy in the days between Palm Sunday (Luke 19) and crucifixion Friday (Luke 23).  He taught, healed, prayed, warned of his death, and offered words to cling to.

Jesus said, “By standing firm you will gain life.”  (Luke 21)

God also told King Jehoshaphat’s and his army to stand firm and Paul told the Ephesians to stand firm. ( 2 Chron. 20:17 ,Ephesians 6: 13-14)

I guess God knew standing firm in a fickle world would be a challenge.  Standing firm is difficult when we face uncertainty, confusion, and doubt.  But God knows standing firm in our faith despite the obstacles and temptations to compromise is the way to life.