Withstand

WITHSTAND — that word hits home for me. After 40 years in Oklahoma winds and now navigating the Texas gusts, I’ve learned this: wind doesn’t play nice. It pushes, pulls, and pressures -- but it also reminds us we were built to stand strong.

Those winds have a mind of their own. They can rattle windows, rearrange hairstyles, and blow a lawn chair from Austin to Waco in under an hour. No wonder the Bible uses wind as a metaphor so often — it’s relentless, unpredictable, and hard to ignore.

Ephesians 4:14 warns us about those winds that blow through our minds and spirits: “We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching…” In other words: Don’t let every breeze knock you flat.

Life comes with winds — testing winds, trouble winds, temptation winds, opinion winds, and even those “Where-did-THAT-come-from?” winds. But God doesn’t leave us flapping in the breeze. Ephesians 6:13 reminds us to “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to WITHSTAND -- and stand firm.”

To withstand means to remain undamaged by a destructive force.
Oh, how we need that.

One of the best ways to stay undamaged? Stay connected. God never intended for us to face hurricane-force days alone. From the very beginning He said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18)

We need people who steady us.
Pray for us.
Hold us up when our knees wobble.
Tell us the truth when lies sound convincing.
And remind us who we are when the storm tries to tell us otherwise.

That’s what the church is. Not a building — a family. A place where our gifts strengthen each other. A place where we’re built up, prayed for, corrected in love, and reminded of the God who never shifts, never changes, never gets outdated like last decade’s computer manual.

Because here’s the good news -- truth does not move. Isaiah 40:8 declares, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Culture shifts. Opinions wobble. Trends change hourly. But God’s Word? It stands like a mountain while everything else blows sideways.

So when the winds pick up -- and they will -- anchor yourself. Stay in the Word. Stay with God’s people. Stay steady. Stay connected.

Stand firm. Lift your chin. Square those shoulders.
You were built — by God Himself — to WITHSTAND. #withstand #godswordistruth #StandFirm