August 30, 2020
A friend sent me a video of Russian gymnasts early this week. (I was a gymnast in high school) The routine they performed was stunning. The three women worked together flawlessly in a multitude of moves and acrobatics. I was able to isolate this picture of the three as they held this pose. It is phenomenal, but what the announcer said caught my attention and changed my perception as I finished watching the performance.
The announcer said these women and this maneuver demonstrated an incredible example of security at the base, flexibility in the middle and precision at the top. What an understanding of living life as a child of God, of life as a disciple of Christ.
The woman at the base of this position must be sturdy and unshakeable. If we do not have a base that is secure and sure – if we are not grounded in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we will not make it through this life unscathed. The life we build, the monuments we erect will at some point inevitably fall. We can trust God, we can trust His promises, and the truth of His Word and we know that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is sturdy, secure, and unshakeable. Matthew 7.24-27 24 Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.
The woman in the middle, standing on the foundation of the bottom woman, was able to demonstrate her ability to be flexible. We must be flexible … willing to do the will of the Father – not our own. Many times, over the course of my walk with Jesus He has led me down a path and to an adventure that was nowhere on MY radar! Deuteronomy 13.4, 5a Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. 5 The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the Lord your God.
But with the precision of the Head of the Body of Christ, and His perfect timing and plan for my life, I am able to do so much more than I could ever do by myself. Jeremiah 29. 11-13 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Without the security of the base that is my foundation in the Word, and knowledge of the Love of God, and the absolute certainty of the top gymnast, demonstrating the higher thoughts and ways of Jesus the flexibility of the person in the middle would be just a shallow display of twisting and turning whatever way the wind blows.
During this time, and in this culture when the winds of change are blowing strong and consistently, remember to stand firmly on a foundation formed only by the one true creator God, the triune unchangeable God of the Bible. Trust in His Love and in His plans and will for your life.
Trusting His unchanging Love,
Pastor Deb