Day 148- What is Your Support Structure

📖Daily Reading

 Isaiah 5-7

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📝 Reflection  

 Isaiah 7: 9

   “….Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.”

 

Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm…. What does make something stand firm? What is God saying through Isaiah here to King Ahaz?  King Ahaz is being threatened by Syria and Israel. King Ahaz is worried and afraid, Isaiah is sent to remind him of where His strength should come from and to have firm faith even when the odds seems impossible. 

As I thought through this I thought of how things are built that are strong. They need to have a good strong structure so that what ever it is can fulfill its purpose. Part of a strong or firm building for example has to have some ability to also bend, flex and breath within its environment and also when strong elements or storms come. Ships and planes are similar. Trees as well, which are often used in analogies in the Bible. 

The word ‘firm’ is the word used in most translations.  As I think of this things can be firm and still flexible and with this combination be very strong. Their strength is enhanced by their flexibility, if things are too rigid this can actually cause weakness. Often in engineering in order to build something that can withstand stressful circumstances flexibility is part of the strength of something, but not too much, just the right amount.  

I think this is often how we should relate to our faith. It should be firm enough to hold the purpose of what the structure is for and make it possible and it does this by being able to work with the environment and circumstances. I think it is easy to read this and think that I have to be good enough, perfect enough in my belief and rigid and strong enough in order to stand, but it says firm.  

As I thought further about this analogy, the image of the large blow up tube people that are used by businesses to advertise sales, or the type of things we often now put up in our yards for holiday decorations. These can seem very firm, and as long as the conditions are right they are. Part of how they work is to have be very full of air to create the rigid outside that then reacts with the air outside. This only works with the right conditions though, and they don’t stand up very well with bad weather, they are pretty fragile, and vulnerable. If they get one small hole in them, they become very flimsy or completely deflate. I think sometimes our faith can be like this, we fill ourselves up with ‘good’ and ‘faithful’ activities, and it seems great as long as the conditions and circumstances are right.  We think by being rigid, air-tight and careful that our faith is firm. 

A firm faith with flexibility allows for King Ahaz to be worried and afraid and stand firm anyway and not give into the fear. He can bend and flex with the circumstances and stand firm in his faith and there for work with God’s plan for victory even when it doesn’t make sense or seem possible. 

For example when I was teaching my kids how to swim. I have a process for teaching kids to swim as an previous instructor. At some point the student has to take those first unassisted strokes. To know that it is possible, there is no other way, you just have to do it- to do it..  As a parent I can be firm in my authority and ask my child to have faith in me and trust me to catch them if I ask them to jump off of the edge of the pool and swim a short distance into my arms. They may have some faith, and may want to believe and have faith and do what I am asking, but if they look at the circumstances and allow fear to take over they may not do what I am asking. They may stand on the edge fretting and yelling for me to come closer, or ask to run around to the steps etc..  I as the parent know that the outcome will be fine, but they have do what I say to have that outcome. There is a framework and a support structure to learning, but at some point you have to do what you previously couldn’t do or thought you couldn’t do. It goes from thought or faith to reality. You have to be firm enough in your faith to allow it to be tried, tested and used. 

I know I was a bit all over the place with analogies today, hopefully it made some sense 🤷‍♀️! God works in mysterious ways, often on the days when I think I make the least sense, it is just what ‘lands’ in someones heart just the right way- I trust God in this process. Everyday I test and try Him and He shows up and uses it!  

✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt 

 How is your support structure? Do you stand firm? Are you flexible and firm? Are you too rigid or too flexible?

📖Tomorrows Reading

 Isaiah 8-19

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