The Sticking Place…

Have you ever just had one of those days?  You know, you spill coffee on your favorite shirt, stub your toe on the coffee table and then find out that you missed paying the electric bill when you pick up the mail and see the disconnect notice.  Ugh!  Seriously?!  You make it through these minor inconveniences because your favorite verse is Romans 8:28.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)

You wonder what good could have possibly come from this day, but Proverbs 3:5-6 tells me not to lean on my own understanding.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)

So okay Lord, here I go trusting you.  Well then you have a good week followed by a relatively uneventful good month and you think, “Hey, I’m really doing good here.  Things are going my way.” Then Wham! You run face first into the wall of life and this time it’s more than a minor inconvenience.  It’s the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one or the loss of a love.  The sticking place. How do we continue to weather the storms we encounter?  As I have considered this the only answer I can think of is… the sticking place.  This is the place where our faith is bigger than our fear.  Our fear of loss and failure.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

Each of us eventually get there.  Some take longer than others, but we all come to a point in our lives that roots us firmly.  For the Christian the sticking place should be the hope that we have in our Savior.

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:24-25 (ESV)

Shakespeare coined the term, “Screw your courage to the sticking place”. I love the notion that there is a place within each of us that paradoxically creates a passion to rise up while providing a shelter of solace.  The sticking place.  The place that my soul clings to and comes back to.  The place that I carry with me and measure all else against.  The place that brings me peace, courage, and strength. The sticking place… the cross.