This Semester's Theme: Steadfast

By Kaitlyn Yiu*

It’s 2021! We made it… wait, we did, right?

Everyone thought 2020 would be a year to remember. And it was, although most certainly not in the ways we had hoped. 2020 was a year that tested us (figuratively and literally), stretched us, and unfortunately, divided us in more ways than one…leaving us with even MORE eagerness than before for a new year, a new start. And so we have it, 2021. But one month in and we’re already seeing/experiencing more damage and fractures, not to mention increased fear and panic as many cities tighten their restrictions and guidelines in response to a new strain of the virus. Six days into the year and many of us were already posting, “Alright, 2022.”

But what if that’s just it? What if what we really need is not a new year, but a new source of hope to place our trust in? As Pastor Manny from C3 Downtown Manhattan put it:

“What if 2020 was a year where false hopes were exposed, and the true hope in Jesus Christ was made even clearer?”

From our health to our financial situation to our government, the things of this world simply CANNOT give us the security and stability we long for. If we place our hope in these people or things, or even in our circumstances, we will undoubtedly be disappointed and let down. So what, then?

Let’s rewind all the way back to Moses’ time for a sec. The Israelites had been enslaved for hundreds of years, and finally as they are about to be led into freedom, the entire Egyptian army comes chasing after them, cornering them against the Red Sea. They begin panicking, full of fear and distress, tired of being enslaved, afraid of being recaptured by the Egyptians, angry at Moses for bringing them there to die...they are probably in what they consider to be their WORST case scenario, and here Moses takes the chance to confidently reply:

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14 NIV [emphasis added]

Stand firm. Be still. They are in the seemingly most impossible and hopeless situation (and really have been for YEARS), and THESE are the words their leader encourages them with. WHY? It’s not like Moses wasn’t aware of the angry army behind them or the treacherous sea before them. He, too, longed to see his people set free, and had waited for so long to see God’s word to them fulfilled. But in that moment, he put his hope in the LORD. He trusted that even if his circumstances were dire, the Lord’s words to them were CERTAIN. The God who had changed Pharaoh’s heart to “set the captives free” could surely deliver them from his hands once more. The God who had heard the cries of His people in Egypt surely heard them now as they heard the racing of chariots approach. And all that was required of them? To stand firm and be still.

…which leads us to our heart/theme for this semester: STEADFAST.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:1 ESV

To be steadfast means to be resolute, firm, and unwavering. If, as this Psalm proclaims, the steadfast Love of the Lord endures forever, why does our view of His Love (and perhaps even our love for Him) fail to endure in times like this? Exhortations like “be still, and know that He is God” seem to us a failure to see the dire nature of our circumstance, but what if instead these words are meant to challenge us in the MIDST of crisis? That in comprehending just how difficult what we are facing is, the words “stand firm” and “be still” are far from inconsiderate, but are actually considerate of the reality that we so often forget: God does not change. That in the face of the most hopeless of situations, THIS is a steadfast unchanging truth to be trusted far more than the waxing waves of circumstance, THIS is a hope that holds fast even when all other hopes may feel so frequently dashed.

Moses knew. Moses, with the mightiest army of the world at the time approaching a worn out group of escaping slaves, was certain that I AM does not change, and that a great deliverance was inevitable, despite the fact that Moses had not yet heard how this deliverance would take place. Similarly, while we do not yet know how we will get past this pandemic, this season of seemingly endless chaos and confusion, we can hold fast to the knowledge that He is God. And deliverance WILL come, in His way and in His timing, and as we remain in His truth and in His LOVE, He will remain true to His Word and to the promise that He SAVES.

So in the words of King David, “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and take heart; wait for the LORD!” And let the steadfastness of the Lord (and consequently, your steadfastness to Him) be an anchor, sword and shield in the midst of all that is and is to come.

*with contribution from Lachlan Warrell