Solid Ground

This season has brought with it lots of uncertainty and change. Our day to day job has changed, our routines have changed, our social lives have changed.

All this change can leave us feeling a bit unsettled because all the structures we usually live our lives by are no longer there.

I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and before lock down I got to do the fastest zip line in the world. Flying across a large slate quarry 500m above the quarry lake at speeds of up to 100mph.

Why was I able to enjoy this experience and not just completely freak out? Because when they removed the ground from beneath me and released me to fly down the zip wire, I trusted the equipment that was holding me, the people who had attached me to the wire and I trusted the wire itself to hold me. I could enjoy the journey because I trusted in what was holding me steady even when winds blew us around a bit!! (ok I was a bit scared at this bit!!)

As I’ve reflected in this season and I’ve thought about my experience on the zip wire, it has got me thinking about my faith. How in the midst of all this change I can know and trust that God has got me safe and will get me safely to the other side.

Psalm 40 vs 2 says “He lifted me out of the slimy pit; out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” 

When everything around me feels like it is changing, it is reassuring to know that God gives me a firm place to stand. I can know that God is my constant, he is steadfast, always there for me, always got my back.

In the bible king David in the psalms refers to God as ‘my rock’ Psalm 18 vs 2 says  “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.”

Who and what is your rock? Who are the people you can rely upon and what are the things that have remained constant through this storm that you now can see are the true rocks of your life?

As we continue to face uncertainty about what the coming weeks will look like may we find comfort and strength in knowing the constant love of a God who holds us steady through the storm and will see us safely to the other side.

Challenge

Focus on the things that haven’t changed. Who/ what are the things that are your rock? Is it family, friends?  What has remained the same despite all this change? Be thankful for these things.

For those of faith, thank God for being your rock during this time and put a reminder up somewhere around your home to remind you on the days you feel shaken. 

Why not paint on a rock the things that are important to you and display it as a reminder of the things that are solid in your life.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you that in the midst of change you remain the same. You are our rock, the one on whom we can depend. Thank you for giving us a firm place to stand. That in a season of uncertainty we can find stability in you. May we find comfort in you and joy for the journey.

Amen

Written by Nic Freeman

Assistant Lead of Christian Distinctiveness at Bluecoat Wollaton Academy