Poised When You're Powerless

If I ever go to Washington, D.C., I want to visit the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." It has been set apart in Arlington National Cemetery to honor all those U. S. service men and women whose remains were not recovered after losing their lives in the line of duty. An Honor Guard is posted at the Tomb at all times. It is a rare honor to serve as one of these Sentinels. Nothing prevents them from staying at their post. Perhaps you have seen the images of these guards serving in extreme conditions: ice covering their uniforms, or hurricanes bending trees to the ground nearby. These soldiers knows their orders and will obey them no matter what. It’s a picture of poise: staying fixed in your place, regardless of what is happening all around you.

“Poise” is the word pastor Tommy Nelson uses to summarize Ecclesiastes chapter 8, and I can’t think of a better one. It’s about staying poised under the pressures of life. Spiritual poise means continuing to trust and obey God when life is hard. I stay at my post and do what God has told me to do in his Word. Others may desert. Pain may blindside me, and I may suffer for doing the right thing. But my walk with God will not be determined by my circumstances, my feelings, or by other people. I still get up in the morning, I do what I know is right, and then I trust the results to God. I don’t have to understand all God is doing; I just have to know my duty and do it. Because the wise person has God’s interpretation of life, so his face shines with peace, even when life is hard (8:1).

In v2–9, Solomon tells us to stay poised when we’re powerless. The first scene he takes us to is in a palace, where you serve an ungodly king: “one man has power over another to his hurt" (9). What do you do when the person in authority over you—employer, manager, teacher, coach, government official—is ungodly, unwise, unfair, or unkind? This is frustrating! Our instinct is to allow their ungodliness to dictate our behavior: we grumble and slander; we speak and act disrespectfully; we spread division and undermine their leadership. A believer can ruin his or her witness by reacting poorly to ungodly authority and leadership.

Solomon tells us to stay poised when we're powerless: “Keep the king’s command” (2). The “oath” in this verse could refer to an oath God took to the king (i.e., God is behind all earthly authority, even if it is ungodly; see Romans 13:1). The "oath" could also be the oath you made to obey the king. Practically, the result is the same: unless the human authority over me is telling me to sin, my duty before God is to obey. That takes poise! Solomon gets more specific about our poise in v3: “Don’t be hasty to leave his presence.” When I don’t like something this authority figure does, I don’t need to fly off the handle, walk out, bash them on social media, or lead an uprising. For one thing, it probably won’t do any good! “For he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, ‘what are you doing?'" (3b–4) That authority is going to do what it wants; if I become insubordinate, they will just get rid of me. The wise person learns the difference between what she can change and what she can’t.

When you can’t change your situation, you simply have to trust God. (5–6) You may be powerless, but God isn’t! He knows how to deal with ungodly authority, and he knows how to take care of you. So you worry about doing right and let God handle it his way in his time. If you take matters into your own hands, you’ll make it worse. Wait for God to act—you don’t know what he has planned (v7; think about David with Saul!)! God may be teaching you things and developing your character before he entrusts you with authority. The moment God wants to deal with that ungodly authority, he will (v8). In the meantime, you stay poised!

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church