By: Obed Pineda
When speaking about the “ebb and flow” of something, this is usually expressed in reference to the fluctuation of said situation. This idiomatic expression was first used to speak about the high and low tides of the sea. If the sea tide is low, then the water level has ebbed making it a shallow sea; if the tide is high, then the water is flowing, rapidly increasing the depth of the sea. Hence, the concept of the sea levels constantly rising and falling is used in a figurative sense to detail the ups and downs of a certain process or circumstance. Undeniably, the visualization of the ocean’s waves constantly rising and falling are an excellent way of describing a person’s state of encouragement in life. There are challenges life has set before us where we are confident we will be triumphant, and then there are others that drain all of our boldness away because they are seemingly impossible to defeat. Indeed, it cannot be denied that every human being has victories and defeats in life but one thing is clear; no one is undefeated or win-less against the trials and tribulations of life. Whoever said, “we win some and we lose some” is absolutely right, and this truth is what the upright man must hold fast in his mind’s eye when he finds himself lying on the mat. After having lamented over the dire situation he found himself surrounded by, the inspired prophet Micah boldly promulgated, “I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Micah 7:7-8). It is wise to pinpoint that the source of the prophet’s mighty resolve was his absolute reliance upon the just and almighty God. Prior in the Scripture, Micah had unveiled that it is unwise to place our full confidence in our earthly friends and family since man can (and in some instances will) resort to treachery for survival (cf. Micah 7:5-6). God, on the other hand, is immutable and therefore even “if we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2nd Timothy 2:13). Let us not corrupt the meaning of these inspired words to be that we can live a disorderly life and God will still reward us. On the contrary, what Paul explains is that God is true to His promises and one of those promises is that He will repay each one “according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2nd Corinthians 5:10b). Upon considering that frequently our fellow human peers come to be the very ones who ebb our encouragement, the wisdom of Solomon’s caution should ring in our spiritual ears: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19). It is true that not all men are untrustworthy since the Almighty chose to place His glorious Gospel in certain earthen vessels as well (cf. 2nd Corinthians 4:7). However, the intent of this treatise is to demonstrate the sapience of making the Lord God the oasis that feeds our flow of encouragement in this spiritually arid culture. The sinful man regularly looks to the righteous man’s fall as a means of denying the uprightness of God. However, Holy Writ never promises that an upright man will never stumble nor fail in life. Micah acknowledged that there would be times where he would fall (cf. Micah 7:8b). The Psalmist mirrors the inspired prophet, “the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:23-24). King Solomon concurs with his inspired father, David, as he counsels the wicked, “Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not plunder his resting place; for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity” (Proverbs 24:15-16). It is evinced by these sacred texts that what refills the righteous man’s willpower to rise again, is turning to the powerful Word of God (cf. Psalm 73). Our Savior provided an example of this in what was His most dire test while on earth; His crucifixion. The Bible reveals, “now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me’” (Mark 15:33-34)? Often is the case that the focus of the student looking into this passage is the same as those who were present when the Lord spoke these words (cf. Mark 15:35). Yet, if one only concentrates on discovering the meaning of the Master’s words on the cross, one can miss a very important lesson that was clearly intended by Jesus from there. His fabulous lesson must begin to unravel by paying close attention to the details provided by the inspired Mark in regards to the setting. Concerning the darkness mentioned by Mark, Luke states, “there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two” (Luke 23:44b-45). Remember that Jesus’ twelve had forsook Him, and therefore He hung on that cross alone as it pertains to His followers. Hanging on there by Himself, shrouded in a heavy, unnatural darkness, the Lord put into practice Micah’s words of our selected pericope; His mind was firmly anchored on Scripture since what He used to pierce the darkness with His voice was Psalm 22:1 (cf. 1st Peter 4:1-2). Although our beloved Redeemer was left alone by His companions, He was not abandoned by His heavenly Father. Jesus was teaching mankind, from His cruel cross, how to cling firmly to the Omnibenevolent and loving hand of the Almighty in the darkest and loneliest times of one’s life. In that moment when His encouragement wanted to ebb from Him, He opened the floodgates of His Father’s robust Word to overflow within Him with strength from above to successfully achieve the victory over sin and death, that gives humanity ample access to God’s grace (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18). His extraordinary example exhibits the precious value of guarding Holy Writ in our mind. Christ proved David’s words, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). It is valuable to recognize that many times the tides of discouragement flow, when the tides of Holy Writ ebb from our hearts. For this reason, “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).