I have a perpetual calendar on my desk from 2007 with the words “Stand Firm” on the cover, taken from the Scripture Col 4:12b, “stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” It has a verse about standing firm for each week of the year, often accompanied by words from a Christian witness, hymn or poem, or from the founder of “Moms in Touch,” Fern Nichols. I had joined a Moms in Touch prayer group in our parish, where we met together weekly to pray for our kids and our schools.
Our little group always began with a few songs, “As the Deer” and “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” were on the top of the list.
Then we would focus on a particular attribute, name or characteristic of God, reading the Scriptures about it and praising Him for Who He is. After a short time of silent confession, we would invite the Holy Spirit to lead us, and then pray God’s Word into the lives of our children and our schools. So many Words planted in the hearts and minds of our kids as we lifted them up in prayer, with the Lord strengthening us in our faith and trust in Him. How grateful I am for those weekly meetings, as I look back now and see how they were shoring up the foundations of my faith, preparing my heart to indeed stand firm in the trials and struggles of the years that followed!
The memory of those years, and of that calendar, have been coming back to my mind recently as I heard that phrase echoed by Msgr James Shea, President of the University of Mary in North Dakota. He spoke at one of the break-out sessions of the National Eucharistic Congress, on the topic “The Religion of the Day: Breaking Free from Post-Christian Influence.” How are we to respond to the non-Christian culture we live in? By “standing firm” in the faith of our fathers – in the Truth of the Bible, of the Catechism and the Magisterium of our Catholic Church. We’ve been given what we need to resist being confused or frightened by what’s going on in our society, in the world.
Last Saturday I was blessed to hear Peter Herbeck, Vice President of Renewal Ministries, repeat the same admonition: “Stand Firm!” It’s not complicated; we know who we are and Whose we are. We know Who has won the Victory, and He has us in His safe keeping, if we but stand firm in our faith! I go back to the words of that classic hymn, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord!” By Jamie Owens-Collins
With heavenly armor
We’ll enter the land,
The battle belongs to the Lord!
No weapon that’s fashioned
Against us will stand,
The battle belongs to the Lord!
Refrain:
We sing glory, honor,
Power and strength to the Lord!
When the power of darkness
Comes in like a flood
The battle belongs to the Lord
He’s raised up a standard
The power of His Blood
The battle belongs to the Lord!
Refrain
When the enemy presses
In hard do not fear
The battle belongs to the Lord
Take courage my friend
Your deliverance is near
The battle belongs to the Lord!
Refrain
How grateful I am for the Truth of the Scriptures, often put to music that resonates in our minds and hearts.
Isaiah 30:15 -”For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “by waiting and by calm you will be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies…” “By waiting and by calm;” to me that translates as “stand firm!” Elisabeth Elliot”s words: “The Lord’s decrees (His promises, His plans, His every word) stand fast. The events in our private lives and the great catastrophes in the world do not budge the solid ground on which the Christian takes his position.”
Lord God, thank You for Your Word, that repeatedly calls us to stand firm in faith! Thank you for putting that word on the lips of leaders in our faith, reminding us of the posture we need to assume to live a victorious life amid the strife and confusion of this world. Thank you for all the ways you bring this Word to our awareness, and remind us of It’s Power! May we indeed stand firm with You, as we trust in Your mercy and love step by step on our journey home to You…
Spiritual Sun Pennies 