Standing Tall When Your World Shakes: Faith in the Deepest Distress

Standing Tall When Your World Shakes: Faith in the Deepest Distress By Gary E. Shelton, CRP Director {PLEASE NOTE: With the introduction of our newer initiatives from the Christian Readiness Project (CRP), we also are adding a regular blog to our website. It will issue at least once or twice a week depending upon schedules of other events. It may also have comments on different schedules about real-time events. So, please look here often, and, THANK YOU for reading.} Have you ever known someone whose entire world seemed to blow away, shake apart, or burn down in a single day? Maybe you have been through that fire yourself. It could be a sudden natural disaster, a tragic medical report, or an economic collapse that wipes out everything you have worked for. When those days of great distress arrive, it is a heartbreaking reality that many people completely fall apart emotionally and spiritually. They get blindsided because they spent all their time preparing for sunny days, and they have no foundation left when the ground starts shaking. But it does not have to be that way for a child of God. True believers who intentionally prepare their hearts, minds, and spirits to live each day for Christ during the good times find themselves uniquely ready to face the darkest hours. The Secret of the Fixed Heart When the weather is fine and life is smooth, that is the exact time to settle who is in control of your life. You cannot build a deep reservoir of faith while you are actively drowning; you have to build it day by day when the waters are calm. King David knew a thing or two about living under extreme distress. He spent years running for his life, sleeping in caves, and facing betrayal. Yet, look at what he wrote in Psalm chapter fifty-seven, verse seven: "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and praise." Notice that David did not say his circumstances were fixed. His world was still chaotic, but his heart was locked into place. He had already decided, long before the battle, that God was good, God was sovereign, and God was his refuge. Because his spiritual foundation was settled in advance, the outward trouble could not break his inner peace. Faith in the Midnight Hour What does this look like when it is put into action in the New Testament? We find a beautiful example of this fixed faith in the Book of Acts, inside a dark, dirty prison cell in the city of Philippi. The Apostle Paul and his companion Silas had just been severely beaten with rods, thrown into the innermost dungeon, and had their feet locked fast in heavy wooden stocks. They were in a state of intense physical pain and deep distress. If they had been relying on their own human grit, that would have been the moment to cry, complain, or give up on God. But look at what they did in Acts chapter sixteen, verse twenty-five: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." How do you sing praises at midnight with a bleeding back and your feet in chains? You can only do that if you have already cultivated a deep, abiding reliance on the Savior during the daytime. Paul and Silas didn't start getting to know God that night in the jail. They already knew Him. Their spiritual preparation was so thorough that the crisis couldn't diminish their faithfulness. It only amplified their witness to everyone matching them in the dark. God's Provision for Your Storm Please hear my heart on this: God’s love, His supernatural strength, and His daily provisions are fully capable of helping you get ready for whatever is coming down the road. More than that, He is faithful to see you completely through the trial itself. The peace we are talking about is not a psychological trick, and it is not about pretending that painful things do not hurt. It is about knowing that the Creator of the universe loves you, holds your eternity in His hands, and will never leave your side. Are you taking the time to fix your heart on Christ today while things are stable? Are you filling your mind with Scripture and spending time in prayer every morning? Let us stop waiting for a crisis to force us into a relationship with God. Let us commit to Him fully right now, in the quiet days, so that if our earthly world ever shakes apart, our souls will stand completely tall, ready to witness to His marvelous grace. Summary Statement: A heart fixed on Jesus Christ during the days of plenty becomes an unshakable monument of faith, stamina, and Gospel witness when the midnight hours of distress arrive.