“Establish your hearts…” James 5:8a NIV
The gleaming white marble columns stretched into the heavens, their strength readily displayed in the structure they supported standing strong and confident. The prisoner that walked amongst the forest of columns was a picture of untold abuse. Confined in heavy bronze shackles, he walked out among a great taunting crowd, his spirit questioning how it had arrived at this time and place. But the most shocking part of this prisoner’s abuse lied in the head that rested upon his shoulders. For in addition to his head being shaved, there were only grotesque vacant sockets where once sight-giving eyes had resided. The once great warrior was defeated and the crowd, three-thousand strong, roared with arrogant victory from the second floor of the structure. Yet as they peered down upon him, watching his every move carefully, they saw him, blind arms outstretched in front of him, feel his way over to two of the grand white pillars. He then proceeded to do the strangest thing, he leaned into it with a strength that seemed to come from beyond himself. Before the crowd had time to react, the space was filled with an earth-shattering crash, and thousands of screams claimed the air.
One of the beauties of the Bible is its rich history. Originally written in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek, its language is a glorious combination of the history of mankind’s ability to collect, process, and record information. And just as you would sift through soil to find small nuggets of gold, the more you dig into God’s Word, the more gold you discover. As I mined through the fifth and last chapter of possibly my favorite book of the Bible, James, I came across a nugget that gleamed at me from the thin white pages. James, the half-brother of Christ and the author of what many Bible scholars believe to be the first book penned in the entire New Testament, gives us a simple, Holy Spirit-inspired command…establish your hearts.
The interesting item of note here is the Greek root of the word establish, “sterizo.” To no surprise, the English definition mirrors that of the Greek, “to support or to fix something so it stands upright and immovable.” Yet as I delved deeper into the use of the Greek word sterizo in other places in scripture, I was surprised to find it used in the last moments of Samson’s life in Judges chapter 16.
“Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, that I may lean against them.” Judges 16:26 LSB italics mine
Hopefully you recall the grand story of Samson recorded in Judges chapters 13-16. A tumultuous, prideful life lived before the Lord, and one with great help from Delilah, that instead of ending as a powerful, victorious Israelite leader, ended in shackles before his enemies, the Philistines. Yet as he was humiliatingly paraded before them, blind in sight but not fully in spirit, he called upon the Lord for one last great feat of strength. And as he asked his young guide to help him to two of the great pillars supporting the royal palace, we see the word “sterizo” used. You see, the great white marble columns did so much more than simply look regal in appearance, they established the entire structure, supporting it and fixing it so it could stand upright and be immovable.
What a chilling picture as we witness Samson destroying the columns that established the structure around him, seeing over 3,000 as well as himself, perish in the destruction. It moves us to fully consider James’ depth of meaning as he commands us to establish our hearts on the Lord. So, the obvious question forms, what is establishing your heart today? Is it being supported by grand pillars of pridefully fueled self-reliance? The idea that in your Samson-like strength you possess enough power to break through all life's obstacles on your own? Or is your heart resting on soaring columns of lust, seeing countless relationships end just as Samson’s did with Delilah, seeing true love confused with lust? Or, as James alludes, is your heart firmly established in faith that Jesus Christ is truly the Savior of the world, the only true way for sinners to be reunited with God for eternity? Is your heart established on the Word of God, the only north star of truth, or on one of the countless modern falshehoods that claim the same truth? For you see, what establishes your heart determines the strength of your structure, that is, your life and all that it radiates.
Today, I pray that the mighty pillars of the Lord are what is establishing your heart. That you are hungering and thirsting for a daily connection with the Lord through a careful and deliberate study of His Word. That through countless prayers each day, you are calling Jesus to be in control as you relinquish it, allowing Him to be the support of your heart. That through blessed fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, you are sharing in their burdens, seeing the structure of the body of Christ stand strong and immovable. And finally, your heart is established in not holding the gospel message of Jesus Christ as a captive in shackles but setting it free by telling all that God places in your life that they can have liberty from their sins and find a life that is full of peace, harmony, purpose, and joy. Brothers and sisters…establish your hearts.
May you today walk with a heart firmly established on nothing but the goodness of God ~ Dan
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