The Power To Sit

Psalm 27:1 -- "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

 

The first thing I can think of when I picture Rosa Parks stepping up into the bus and paying her fair - is the tired that she must have felt in her feet. Just off shift from her job at a department store, her dogs HAD to be barkin'. I can FEEL that all she really wanted was to sit down and get home. She worked hard at an honest living and had paid the same bus fair as did every other person who rode it on that fateful day back in December of 1955. But she wasn't allowed to sit like other folks. Especially when the bus began to fill up.

A woman with some age on her, Rosa was actually asked to give up her seat because four white men were left standing in the isle when the bus filled to capacity. She would later say that she wasn't thinking about fear. She was first and foremost, thinking that she was tired. She was tired from her job. She was tired of being rated "second-class", and she was tired of years of injustice doled out to her people all because of the color of their skin. She said that in her mind, someone had to stand up - or in her case, sit down - for what is right. She  also said that as they arrested her, finger printed her, and snapped her mug shot with that horrible number on the wooden plaque in front of her - that she was not afraid. She quoted Psalm 27:1 - "the Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" She said that she felt the Lord would give her the strength she needed to endure whatever she had to face.

I think of her as brave. But she didn't see herself that way. She saw that our Savior was her light and He had clearly marked a path for her. For her, it wasn't bravery, but obedience.

Now and again I am faced with a fear that seems so deeply routed in me that there is no way to overcome it's long cold grip around my heart. There are things that I know God would have me do - but I allow fear to win out and His call goes unheeded. A time or two I've been given a great opportunity to talk to someone about the love of Jesus Christ, but I shy away from the social interaction because my heart starts to beat too quickly and my palms start to sweat. Or stage-fright takes over and I don't join the choir or sit on an advisory board.

The thing is - the Lord IS the stronghold of my life - of whom [or what] shall I fear? What if Rosa Parks had entertained fear? What if Moses had given in to his shyness and his fear and not lead his people out of Egypt? What if my parents allowed their fear of a war-torn country to keep them out of Africa or the Philippines - where they served God as missionaries?

Rosa Parks was FINALLY given credit for her bravery [her obedience] when President Bill Clinton awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the very highest honor that can be given to a civilian by the government in the United States. But the truth is, she wasn't looking for this honor. She wasn't looking for glory. She was looking to answer the call she received from her Lord and Savior.

We are called as God's children, to serve. We are not called to fear. Our Lord is our light and our salvation. And really, if God is for us - who can hope to stand against us? Think not of the fear that might come when we try to serve God according to our own might and strength. Instead, look to our Stronghold and our Light!