“My 30 minutes of writing is where I join hands with the millions of others (authors) who came before me, to put my work into the world like those who came before them” – Tim Grahl
I heard Tim say this at a conference. It brought such a sense of solidarity to my effort and understanding my place among the writing community, but it also conjured up thoughts of my faith and the faith of those who came before me. It made me think of the moment we, as believers, are standing in right now.
We’re nothing new. This moment you are standing in, it’s been stood in before. We’ve had terrible leaders, terrible presidents, economic problems, church issues, unemployment, racism, etc. have all happened before. It’s nothing new, it’s just our turn to stand in our moment like those who did before us whether we think it’s fair or not.
As a believer, I pray, I read, I preach, I love, but it’s nothing new. When I practice my faith I join hands with those who came before me. They fought injustice, they faced lions, they suffered persecution and many never inherited the promises they only saw in their dreams. It’s nothing new, it’s just our turn to stand in the moment as they did.
When we stand, we stand with the heroes of Hebrews 11
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
When we understand that the moment we stand in, has been stood in before, I don’t know that it makes our moment any easier, but I do think it should offer us some comfort.
To add to our comfort, Hebrews 12:1-2, gives us insight into the great cloud of witnesses, who stood in moments like our.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
We should stand in our moment, join hands with the faithful, but we must keep moving forward. The baton has been passed and we have to run our leg of the race. We have to pass the baton to the next generation and then we become a part of the cloud so they can have their moment.
Jesus not only stood in our moment when He walked the earth, He stands in our moment now.
Keep believing and join your hands with those who never gave up.