First Responders

Last night my wife and I participated in a live stream service from our home church in Oklahoma.  It was a wonderful time and it felt like we were right in the midst of the auditorium with everyone else.  The Pastor was using Habakkuk 3:17-19 as his text and was sharing on the subject of no matter the severity of the situations in life, that God’s people will always be taken care of as we learn to rejoice in the Lord.  Toward the end of the service he began to declare many of the various scriptures that tell of the unchangeableness of the Lord and His Word. Within a few moments the anointing fell, the pace quickened and it was like the Pastor was proclaiming the scriptures with lightning speed!  The atmosphere in the large auditorium lit up and the people began to shout, clap and rejoice.  Then the band began to play and bedlam broke out!

Here at home both my wife and I immediately sprang from our chairs and began to laugh and rejoice.  What was even more interesting was that our dog also sensed the electricity in the air and she too began to bark and do her little doggie dance that she normally does before dinner or when she greets my wife!  It was an exciting moment as we savored the truth of the stability of God’s Word in our lives.

The Apostle Peter summarized this confidence when he declared: “But the word of the Lord stands forever.  And this is the word that was preached to you.”  (I Peter 1:25 NIV)  Take a moment here and bask in the strength of the understanding of that verse.  While everything else may seemingly be falling down around you, God’s Word stands true, strong and unmovable for you.

As I meditated on this verse today, I began to think about how you and I respond to the events in our lives each day.  Is our first response to take God’s Word on the matter at hand or to fall into the fear of the impending doom that may be shouting out to us within the present situation?  I have always been amazed at the actions of the first responders who have come to our assistance during the various times that I had to call 911 for my wife’s needs.  These men and women are trained professionals and they work together like clockwork with each one knowing and performing their assigned responsibilities.  They demonstrate no fear, but go about their tasks with the utmost of confidence while projecting a sense of comfort and peace into the situation.

Is that how we respond when “a thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand…?”  (Psalm 91:7 NIV)  It has been interesting for me to see the different first responses of people when they see my wife.  Their initial reactions have ranged from downright shock from friends who hadn’t seen her in a while, to complete strangers in the store who immediately approach her with a smile and talk patiently with her, to family members who still are not comfortable in her presence including one who will begin to talk very loudly, acting like she is hard of hearing!

With the Word of God as our unshakeable foundation, our first response to the curves thrown at us in life should always be like those of the trained emergency professionals.  I think that Christians should be trained professionals when it comes to knowing and acting upon the Word of God, don’t you?  Life is always changing, and things can suddenly happen that work to disrupt our carefully planned schedules, but our peace and our confidence should not be shaken!  The words of truth like Malachi 3:6 in the Contemporary English Version stating that “I am the LORD All-Powerful and I never change!,” should immediately come to mind and fill us with the confidence and know how to overcome the change that has just been thrown at us!

At times like this it would behoove us to remember and declare the confession that the Pastor had us to make last night saying: “The promises of God are my future and I am counting on my God to prevail!”  Write that one down and memorize it, then when the curves of life are thrown, your first response will be to stand on His Word which never changes!  Have a super day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”