“When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.” Psalm 75:3 (NIV)

It’s been a roller-coaster time for my family: My 2-month-old nephew has been hospitalized for bacterial meningitis.

His sweet little body flush with fever. Swelling in the brain, at the base by his spinal cord. A PICC line to better receive antibiotics rather than struggle with his tiny veins.

The days drag, slow, uncertain. We don’t have answers to most of our questions, just prayer and possibility, and I feel helpless that I can’t make his body better.

Sometimes, it’s torture to wait. I pray in every style I know how, and still I can’t quite grasp God’s presence in this. I know in my head that He’s here, but the knowledge doesn’t fully make its way to my heart. My heart — my heart is on shaky ground, grasping for sure footing.

What do we hold to in times like these?

With no solid ground beneath our feet, we stand on the Word of God, build our faith on who He is and the pillars of His protection.

• God is, above all, loving. Our Abba loves us with a fierce, delicate and selfless love that stretches from one corner of the cross to the other. His affection is gentle, and His tenderness is great. His love is pure.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8, NIV)

• God is faithful. His eyes never stray; His heart stays fixed on us, and He tenderly keeps us close with unwavering loyalty. From the beginning, God made and kept His promise never to leave nor forsake us. God has our good in mind, and there is nothing that can separate us from Him.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23, NIV)

• God is in control. This crazy world can spin right off its axis, but it will roll right into His capable hands. Our God holds the pillars of the universe in His grasp — how much more does He care for us? When the darkness doesn’t seem to fade and night stretches on, God is there, unfazed.

“When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”(Psalm 75:3)

• God establishes our steps. As we walk along life’s path, it can get uneven and sprayed with loose gravel, but our God guides us through tight and tough spaces. There’s peace knowing He’s our journeyman, coming alongside us, holding our hand and not allowing us to go alone.

“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:11, NIV)

I don’t have the outcome yet for my nephew, but I know an outcome will arrive. And each breath of prayer is another foundation laid at the foot of the cross, where Jesus Himself breathed out to the Father for us all. He who holds the pillars firm holds us. We can trust Him with our hearts, fears and all the unknown. He is the One called faithful and true.

As the old hymn goes, “On Christ the solid rock I stand. / All other ground is sinking sand.” There is no surer footing.

Father God, You are my solid rock when all other ground beneath me quakes. I look to You to steady me and to fill me with Your presence and peace. Please increase my faith and trust in You as I face trials that attempt to overcome me. You are faithful. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Matthew 7:24-25, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (NIV)

Psalm 40:1-2, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (NIV)

What has been your shaky ground? How have you seen God enter into it with you?

Start naming the ways God has been faithful to you in the past, and let them remind you of how He continues to be faithful now. And share a few of those ways in the comments!

© 2022 by Sarah Freymuth. All rights reserved.