Pianos are infamously difficult to move. The instruments are both heavy and full of delicate, fragile internal components and mechanisms. But there is something even MORE difficult to move.
Before we get to that, welcome to “Mornings with Bishop Robert” — thanks for joining me. I do this for you, every day. My goal is to introduce people to the Jesus they never knew, and help them get to know Him and His word personally – and better !
When you think of something that is more difficult to move than a piano, what comes to your mind? A billiards table, perhaps? Or a large marble statue? Big, heavy and fragile are not a good combination of characteristics to combine in something you’re trying to relocate. Shipping companies have moved whales and elephants; adding “living” to the list of complexities makes the job tougher, to be sure. But enormous mammals pale in comparison to something REALLY massive. In 2013 a power station transformer weighing 640 tons had to be moved from Didcot power station to Avonmouth Docks in Bristol, UK. The transformer was 100 meters long and five meters wide, and crawled along the 82 mile route at a whopping 4 miles per hour. It required two lanes of Britain’s M4 roadway to be blocked and backed up traffic for more than a dozen miles. Even that is small compared to the 4800 ton water desalination unit that was moved in Saudi Arabia; that thing was bigger than a football field!
Today’s verse says I HAVE SET THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE ME: BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND I SHALL NOT BE MOVED.
GOD, as it turns out, is not willing to be moved. He’s not getting out of the way for anyone or anything. When He says “Follow Me” then He’s going to be clearing the path for you. If you can say I HAVE SET THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE ME then you are well cared for indeed.
This verse is part of my prayers every evening. One of the last deliberate things I remind myself of every evening is that I have set the Lord before me, and I am following Him. And because that is so, anything that comes to me has to get through Him first.
Will difficulties and challenges come into my life? Of course they will. But HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND. I’m not ever facing the battles of life solo. I am continually with Him and He is continually with me. My Heavenly Father holds my right hand. That’s not just a nice image, that’s actually scripture. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Yup, He’s my rock, my fortress; I will not be shaken and I shall not be moved.
You and I can say that with confidence, if we are following Him. If you HAVE SET THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE YOU, then the Lord is your keeper. He keeps you safe. He keeps you in His peace. He keeps you in His provision. If something is getting to you, it’s because it came through Him first. He allowed it for a reason. That reason may not be clear to you, but whatever it is will end up being used for your good. It may strengthen you in a certain way. It may build an element of character or understanding that you will need. Though the challenges and battles of life may be difficult or painful, they will never be enough to move us away from our Heavenly Father.
The only thing that can do that is our own choices. Don’t choose to follow fear and doubt. When you follow fear it leads you away from faith. When you follow God and choose faith, He will lead you away from fear. When you choose to follow God, He will strengthen you. And when He strengthens you then you become truly strong. He says He’ll help you and uphold you; so you can be truly courageous. When Joshua was taking over the leadership of God’s people after the death of Moses, God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
And because He leads us and strengthens us, we will be victorious in the end. Those who want to win the world to Christ must have the courage to come into conflict with it. Earl J. Fleming was an Alaska state biologist, and was perhaps the only man to investigate objectively the brown bear’s reputation for attacking humans. When Fleming encountered a bear, he neither ran nor shot. At the end of his unique study, he had encountered 81 brown bears, and although several staged mock charges, not one actually attacked.
We may not know where we are being led or what battles lie ahead. But we know Who it is that leads us. And so, as you and I follow Him, we can be strong and courageous, and say I HAVE SET THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE ME: BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND I SHALL NOT BE MOVED.
