Advent
December 5, 2016
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.’ –Isaiah 35:2-4
There are other scriptures* about feeble knees or weak knees. Fear described by the presence of “being weak in the knees” has existed for centuries, I guess. I fully understand the imagery for I literally have bad knees and they impact all aspects of my life just as fear causes us to change our behavior. I have strengthened my left knee if you call replacing bone with stainless steel making something stronger. It has a few limitations, but it has opened doors for work and travel I could not do without it.
The surgeon needed to replace fear with fortitude is Jesus Christ. I recently told a friend who was nervous about leading in worship that a little stage fright makes everyone more alert and perform better. God built the fight or flight response into each of us when God created us. Fight does not necessarily mean fisticuffs. Fight in this instance means using our fear to strengthen our stance so that we can face whatever in life tries to break us. There may be a time when withdrawing from a situation is the wisest response, but such a response needs to be about the situation not reactionary to our fear of it.
God not only created us with natural mechanisms for wholeness, but God also gifted us with Jesus Christ with whom we can be at one; the Bible calls this atonement. When we reconcile to God through Jesus Christ, we never face any situation, good, bad or indifferent, alone. In Christ, fear is a strengthening force, not a catalyst for running away.
Prayer: Lord, Strengthen our weak hands, and make firm our feeble knees as we respond to your call to love. Amen.
*Job 4:4; Psalm 109:24; Ezekiel 7:17 and 21:7; Daniel 5:6; Nahum 2:10; Hebrews 12:12
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.