“Standing Firm in the Lord”

Life is not easy. There is so much confusion, uncertainty, difficulty, and despair existing in the world. One may ask; “Is there any hope of change for the better?” And “Can there be any peace and joy?” 

Yes! There’s definitely hope, peace, and joy for anyone who puts their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Also, living the life that honors and pleases God in word and deed. Such a life will not actually change the world as it is. Life will continue with its struggles, headaches, and hardships. 

However, the Christian who is standing firm in the Lord accepts his life as the “outliving of the in-living Christ.” In doing so, that person is able to rejoice in the Lord irrespective of what is happening.    

In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul said: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7). 

Standing firm in the Lord begins by having “peace with God.” This peace is the result of the shed blood and death of Jesus Christ on the Cross; into which the individual enters by faith. The Bible says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). 

Being justified by faith means “The enmity we had with God is abolished (Eph. 2:13-16), and we can have peace and unity with the Lord” (Charles F Stanley).

Jesus Christ is the believer’s peace, as the Scripture points out: ”For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

Paul refers to the peace of God, which means inward peace; the position of the Christian having entered into peace with God, and commits his anxieties and uncertain outcomes to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Peace with God means we are no longer separated from God because of sin, but now we are one with Him. 

Paul was most confident about the fact that believers are to rejoice in the Lord; because he gives it the prominence and emphasis it deserves when he says, “again I will say, rejoice.” 

Rejoice means to feel great joy and delight about something. This is even of greater significance when the Christian’s rejoicing is actually in the Lord.

Paul’s rejoicing meant completely abandoning things he once regarded as profitable, now became unprofitable when compared to his fellowship with the Lord. He declares: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surprising worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord” (Philippians 3:7,8). 

This also inspired Paul to stand firm in the Lord. And Christians should endeavor to make this a daily commitment to God; keeping in mind we are in the world but not of the world. The Bible says, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). A reminder of the second coming of Christ.