“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 24-25
Several years ago, my Dad fell which led to a month long hospital stay which included at least four grand mal seizures, the ER, ICU, cognitive incidents (read “We don’t know what is wrong.”), a regular room and finally rehab. Three days after my Dad fell, my mother-in-law fell and broke her hip which led to surgery and rehab. That month is a black hole in my life as I spent all of my time at the hospital.
And it is not just me. If I asked each of you reading this, you could share with me times in your life when you went through a crisis or crises – when what you were going through was all consuming, taking all of your focus and energy. You simply lived moment to moment.
We all go through rough times in our lives. How we respond to them is what is important. Do we react as those without hope or do we live as those who trust God and the fact that He keeps His promises? Do we seek truth and consolation from the world or do we run to Jesus and His Word to find what we need? Do we think we are all alone or do we remember that the Holy Spirit is with us always?
On the other hand, we all have good times in our lives. How do we respond to them? Do we celebrate and share with others before we take time to give thanks and glory to God? Do we take credit for the successes or do we give God praise for what He has done?
Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” In other words, Jesus is the same – period. No matter what comes our way He does not change. What a comfort to know that when life is swirling around us, He is always the same – steadfast, faithful, loving, caring, concerned, and above all.
Jude 24-25 says “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
As we walk with God, He keeps us from stumbling. The Greek word for “from stumbling” means not stumbling or standing firm. “To make you stand” has the meaning of to continue safe and sound or to stand unharmed. God keeps us standing firm in the midst of crisis and as He does, we give Him the glory.
There is a hymn “How Firm a Foundation” which speaks of how God cares for us. Take a moment and listen (www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL1ZCyW8HJc) and celebrate and praise Him for what He has done and is doing in your life!