We're going to take on a posture of peace by becoming fully convinced that God is able
to do what he has promised.
And you know what?
We are going to run hell dry.
Hi, I'm Lindsay Van Zale.
Posture is a podcast that serves as a short, audible fist bump to remind you that God is
in everything.
Together, we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
In Romans chapter 4, Paul summarizes the life of Abraham.
You can read the full story in the book of Genesis, starting in Genesis 12.
I really encourage you to read it.
It's fantastic.
In Romans chapter 4, though, we see a summary of what happened in the life of Abraham, and
specifically Paul highlights the faith of Abraham.
Quick backstory, Abraham was promised by God that he would be the father of many nations,
but there were two natural obstacles to that promise.
The first was that Abraham and his wife Sarah were barren.
They could not have children on their own.
The second obstacle came as time went on.
As they were waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, they got old.
So old that they were no longer in the natural, able to have children for sure.
So basically, what had maybe been kind of possible, or slightly more believable, became
definitely impossible in the natural.
And this is what Paul writes about Abraham in chapter 4, verse 19.
He says,
Abraham did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, or when he considered the barrenness
of Sarah's womb.
No, instead, he says no unbelief made Abraham waver concerning the promise of God.
But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was
able to do what he promised to do.
And then we skip down a little bit and we jump into chapter 5, and Paul writes this.
He says,
Through Jesus Christ, we also have obtained access by faith into the grace in which we
now stand.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
But not just that, he writes, he says,
But also we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character produces hope.
And it is a hope that does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Now in episode 32, we talked about James 1, which actually has a very similar invitation
as Romans 5.
James 1 says,
Count it all joy when you meet various trials.
And then we find in Romans 5, it says rejoice in suffering.
Now as we talked about in episode 32, these scriptures are not telling us to be happy
about our pain.
Instead, what they're saying is that while we're in pain, while we're facing trials,
we can rejoice in the confidence we have as people of God, knowing that something beautiful
is being formed in us as we experience our suffering.
Now why is that good news?
Well, because in this world, Jesus said we're going to have trouble.
Because it's a troubled world.
But we don't have to succumb to the trouble.
We don't have to be depleted by it, or stripped bare by it.
Instead, we can actually come out of suffering stronger than we were before it.
And here is an out-of-this-world thought.
According to Romans 5, my suffering doesn't have to lead to my despair and hopelessness.
No, my suffering can actually produce hope.
Romans 5 says that suffering in us produces endurance, a strength.
It produces character.
Another translation is proof.
It is proven.
The experience shows us that it is true.
And then that produces hope that does not put us to shame.
It does not disappoint.
But here's what's even more incredible.
This promise means that it is very expensive for Satan to mess with us.
Because according to the word of God, the more that Satan throws at us, the stronger
we get.
The more proof of the promise we gain.
And the more hope we accumulate.
So think about that right now in the context of what we all find ourselves in with this
health pandemic, this coronavirus, okay?
I'm watching right now as the people of God are rising up all around the world.
We are all leaning into God for our peace and comfort.
We are embracing his promises.
We are receiving innovation from heaven right now
for our businesses and our churches
to do things like never before.
We are surrendering the pace that we were all running
that quite honestly ran a lot of us ragged,
and instead we're taking time right now to rest.
We are connecting with our friends and family,
even if it's through a screen,
with such a deeper level of appreciation for our community.
We are rising up and serving our neighbors
like our actual neighbors,
the people that live across the street from us
who are most vulnerable, some of them right now
with their medical conditions and their age,
and we are helping them with practical needs
like running errands and making sure
that no one is left to fend for themselves.
We're all becoming stronger right now.
These promises are being proven again and again
in our lives right now.
We are gaining experience, and it's producing a hope in us
that is not going to put us to shame,
but it will put someone to shame, our enemy.
I am convinced that this coronavirus,
this global health crisis is going to run hell.
It's going to run hell dry.
So imagine our world, imagine your own world,
what it's going to look like
on the other side of this health crisis
with a hell that has been run dry.
This is how our mighty God and all of heaven responds
to Satan's attacks against us, but we get to decide.
We have a free choice to decide whose plan
are we going to be a part of today?
Whose plan will we glorify?
Are we going to boast in the enormity of this crisis
or are we going to boast about,
rejoice in the extravagance of God's goodness today?
I would love to invite us all to take our cue
from Abraham today and let's let no unbelief
make us waver concerning the promise of God,
but instead let's grow strong in our faith
by giving glory to God, setting our expectations
on what he can do, becoming fully convinced
that God is able to do what he has promised.
The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26 three,
and in Hebrew, it is shalom, shalom,
meaning complete wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken.
This is who you are in Jesus.
Let's declare this together.
Today, I am kept in perfect peace.
With my whole heart, I trust the Lord.
I am strong, I am victorious, I am whole.
Remember friend, you are a living testimony
of Jesus' ultimate win, not because of anything you did,
but because of what he did for you.
With every step you take today,
you're putting Jesus' victory on display
and Satan's defeat on replay.