Day in the Life: My Stability

(Let me warn you that this post might be misleading for some because of the flow of thought. It tackles about God, love and relationships based on one of our discussion "arcs" tonight at Makati Carecell.)

My message last Sunday touched on one's source of stability in life. Isaiah 6 is about the calling of Isaiah to be a prophet to Judah. Verse 1 said, "In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on the throne ..." 2 Chronicles 26 documents the achievements of King Uzziah, of how he won victories over the nation's enemies. And because of this peaceful reign in his nation, he was able to bring growth to the nation. He built infrastructures, improved it's economy and built a strong military power with state of the art equipments. (Later he was struck by God with leprosy because of pride and he died). The people enjoyed peace and prosperity under King Uzziah. For Isaiah and the rest of Judah, they found their stability in Uzziah, but now he is dead. Imagine this terrible loss, fear and uncertainty of the nation at the death of their king. But at ground zero despite the looming uncertainty of the future for Isaiah and the nation, God revealed Himself to Isaiah in a vision as a king, or the King (in fact, the King of kings), sitting on the throne, still reigning over every circumstances, reassuring us that in every situation, even in the most difficult ones, God is still in control. "God works for the good of those who love him."

That was just my introduction. On to the main topic of this post.

Everyone finds stability in something or someone. There are three things where our stability may come from: 1. Possessions - our assets, houses and savings, 2. Positions - our status, social status, surnames and careers, and 3. People - our parents, children, spouse, or friends. And there is one thing that is common to all of the above mentioned: they are temporal. Today they are here, tomorrow they may not be. The fatality of this truth was proven by the recent typhoon and flooding that caused pain over the loss of these sources of stability. One might conclude that rather than putting our stability on these things, we ought to put our stability on God only.

But as I was analyzing this thought, I believe that the more right thing to say is our stability must find itself first and foremost in God. First and foremost--top source of trust and standard of security. Because I have to admit. God is not the only source of my stability, though God is the main source of my stability. Second to God, I find strength in my soon-to-be wife Nette. In fact both of us find our stability in God. But for me, Nette has become a major source of balance and confidence in my life. Life would be difficult today without her.

I saw the Pixar movie Up a few months ago, and if you know the story, Mr. Fredrickson, prior to his hard and grumpy personality, loved his wife. Their bond and love for each other grew stronger as they grow old until age caught up with them and she had to go first. Watching it I can't help but cry at the thought of losing one's companion in life. (Forgive my melancholy tendency to sulk at the future). Now I am beginning to understand not just in mind, but in my heart how devastating it is of losing someone you love. Because she is my stability.

So the statement, never put your stability on people doesn't quite work. Yes and again, Our stability must first and foremost come from God. But I believe it is God Himself who brings the blessing of loved ones in our lives to let us know that we are loved and we are human--capable of loving--bringing balance and stability in our lives. If we say we cannot put our stability on people, we run the risk of not being able to experience how to love and be loved in return which is one of the defining attributes of the Godhead himself.

Bottom line/s:
- God should be the first and foremost (otherworldly level) source of our trust and stability.
- Not trusting people (in general) runs the risk of our incapability to love and be loved.
- Without trust there is no relationship.