This morning I woke up singing a Noel Richards song. Noel Richards reminds me of going to Spring Harvest in Skegness as a teenager. He had a ponytail. The song was 'My confidence is in the Lord' which contains the lines 'he is my fortress I will never be shaken'.
This last weekend should have been the Baptist Assembly - when we were all going to descend on Bournemouth and be Baptists Together. It was, as many things are right now, sadly cancelled/postponed and one of the things that meant we were missing was the annual recognition of ministers moving onto the accredited list or 'the great handshake' as it might be known. The accredited ministers this year are unshaken.
But something beautiful arose from our private facebook group for women ministers and we gathered on zoom on Sunday night to honour the sisters amongst us who should have got a handshake that weekend with our own unshaken celebration.
Unshaken.
I've been reflecting on that word.
We're unshaken. Often despite, we're unshaken, we continue to stand upright. Perhaps only just at the moment and with the help of others, but we continue to stand upright.
Noel Richards - perhaps your song is for such a moment as this. The words of the song are based on Psalm 62, so here is a little coronavirus version.
Psalm 62 - Coronavirus Edition
I'm trying to find rest for my soul in God;
I know that salvation comes from Him.
He is my rock and He is my salvation.
He is my fortress, the protective 2m barrier around me,
And I will remain unshaken.
How long will we have stay alert to this unseen killer?
Is it in the air, is it on my clothes, is it in the parcels just delivered to my door?
Surely I won't catch it, surely I won't be shaken by it,
It appears to take delight in embracing anyone.
It's parasitic nature thrives in living things
It clings, unwilling to let me be.
I'm trying to find rest for my soul in God.
I know that salvation comes from Him.
He is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I remain unshaken.
I depend on God for protection,
He is the bricks in the walls that surround me. My hiding place.
Trust in Him at all times,
pour out your lockdown frustrations, grief and despair to him
For God is our hiding place.
Surely we should be all in this together?
Surely we are all cared for the same?
By God yes, but the world?
Do not follow the example of the ones who have everything
Do not bed down and forget the ones who have nothing
Set your life to the rhythm of God's heartbeat and align it with justice.
God is speaking.
Are you listening?
What's he saying?
I got the box set of Gavin and Stacey for Christmas and have watched it all this weekend (there is something quite exciting about watching a series from start to finish in a very short period of time). As well as realising that there were episodes I hadn't actually seen (my suspicions were correct - I got to the series late and have only watched it when I have spotted a repeat) it also got me thinking....
In the episode where Nessa has gone into labour and Smithy rushes from Essex to Wales to be there for the birth, when he gets to the bridge him and Gav realise they are 10p short for the toll.... much arguing with the woman on the barrier goes on, and eventually Smithy gets out, lifts the barrier and they drive off.
That barrier represents the distance between Gavin and Stacey - the difficulty in being together when they come from different places and have a different way of life. Gavin loves his home in Essex and Stacey loves her home in Wales. The barrier is symbolic of their differences, yet as these stories go, love conquers all and the barriers are overcome.
Barriers are placed to keep people out or sometimes keep people in...! They are a way of life, making us pay money, keeping the riff raff out, perhaps protecting us from harm.
As well as the physical barriers we also set up our own barriers to protect us from harm, to keep the riff raff out, to stop potential problems from happening. When we are feeling particularly vulnerable we put up barriers that don't need to be there. It means we don't have to encounter those things that we find difficult. It helps us to avoid a situation but doesn't help us deal with a situation.
Some of us live in our own little fortresses. We cut off contact from those situations we find difficult, where to face things head on it will shake our very foundations. We cling to what we know - to structures and ways of doing stuff - so hard that we create barriers that won't let anyone else in.
The trouble is, where we don't let anyone else in, or we create our own bubble of security, we miss the beauty of life. We miss the chance to interact with new people and ideas. We miss loving and getting to know the people who could make a great difference in our life. We put up our fortress and exclude and hurt those who we do not let in, those who we leave out in the cold.
Psalm 62:6 says, 'Truly he [God] is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken'.
When we create our own little fortresses of exclusion, keeping us and the ones we care about most 'safe', and keeping the riff raff out, we forget that God is our fortress. We don't need to create strong barriers, but need to acknowledge that God is the one that is the strongest fortress. Human made barriers prevent and stop, God's fortress enables us to move forward in his strength, which is stronger than any foundation that we might build in our own little fortresses. God's fortress is enabling and life changing, we need no other.
