How Firm Are You? – 2 Chronicles 20:20

20 They were up early in the morning, ready to march into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, "Listen Judah and Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to say! Believe firmly in God, your God, and your lives will be firm! Believe in your prophets and you'll come out on top!"

– 2 Chronicles 20:20

When I was a kid we used to tease the neighbors dog, a pug named Precious.  It was fun to see it come running at full speed across the yard and come to a screeching halt, kicking up dirt, and grass, and dog-drool just inches from crashing head-first into the fence.  The dog's owner, Mrs. Whitaker, would come running out of the house, shaking her fist at us, and giving us a few choice words.  It was a game we repeated almost daily, and looking back on it now – as a homeowner with a dog – I don't know that I wouldn't be as cantankerous as old Mrs. Whitaker.  

There was one time, however, when I was just playing in the yard, minding my own business and self-absorbed with my matchbox cars, when all of a sudden, Mrs. Whitaker came storming out of her house (as she usually did), and waddled across her yard, shaking her fist at me (as she usually did), accusing me of teasing her precious Precious. I tried assuring her that I was only playing with my cars but she couldn't be convinced, no matter how many times I denied teasing her dog.  Then she said something to me that stuck with me all these years.  As a 10-year old, I thought the phrase quite peculiar, but I liked it – the sound of it, the meaning behind it, and the tone in which she said it . . . I liked it all!  She bent down to my level, looked me square in the eye, and said, "Listen here sonny . . . I know what I know."  Then she turned around and stormed her way back into her house, slamming the door behind her!

It was such a simple phrase, but her firm conviction and belief that I had been teasing her "precious Precious" had me almost convinced that I had!  I actually started second-guessing myself and running through my morning to make sure that I, in fact, hadn't done anything wrong!

It is with that same kind of blind faith and belief, that knowing without a shadow of a doubt, that firm belief in God . . . OUR God! No matter what anybody else says or tries to convince us otherwise, we need to stand stubborn and unmovable, we need to "Know What We Know!" and we need to know in our knower that our God IS who He says He is, and that He'll DO what He says He is going to do!  We need to be so resolute and firm in our stance that others will start to take a long and hard look at exactly what it is they believe.

The Bible tells us that if we will do this . . . if we will stand firm and BELIEVE in our God . . . then He will be firmly placed in our lives! He will be planted right smack in the middle of everything we do, blessing, and forgiving, and influencing, and multiplying, and growing everything we put our hands, and our hearts, and our minds to.  If we can get to that point . . . if we can be THAT firm for Him . . . if we can say, "look here, I know what I know!"  Then He will move the world to make sure that we come out on top!

Prayer

Father, we stand firm in our belief in You.  We proclaim Your name proudly, and boldly, and we know with all that we have, that You are OUR God . . . THE God . . . the God of the Angel Armies, and the God of the universe!  You are ALL that we have and ALL that we know and we love You with ALL that we are.

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard