Proclaim Your Faith In Jesus Before You Go Silent
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(9) What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? (10) Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help.’ (Psalm 30:9-10)
Psalm 30 was written by David as a Psalm of Thanksgiving. It is in the realization of God’s provisions and protections that David was given as he was attacked by his enemies, and his anxiety and depression turned into Joy of the Lord. It is the same Psalm read by US astronaut Victor Glover, the pilot of Artemis II, when he was stationed earlier on the International Space Station (ISS). It was how Glover praised God for the provisions and protections God gave Him during that mission.
Glover also took Communion while on the ISS. It is not known if he took Communion while on the Artemis II mission around the moon, but Glover took His Faith. As the Artemis II capsule was about to enter a radio blackout period as it went behind the moon, Glover discussed the Greatest Commandments given by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40, where he recited what Jesus said in those verses. “Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was to love God with all you are,” Glover said, “And He also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it. And that is to love your neighbor as yourself.” Then Glover signed off just before the silence came with, “We love you, from the Moon; we will see you on the other side.”
His words were an affirmation of His Faith, and a selfless gesture toward those of us on Earth, at a time when the four astronauts are in their most peril. For 40 minutes, on the other side of the Moon, it was likely a bit unsettling as the crew was at the farthest point any humans were away from the Earth. They were truly all alone, with no way to communicate to anyone if anything tragic happened – and no way anyone could come to their rescue. Yet, Glover and the other three astronauts gave a statement of Faith and assurance that God was with them, and were wanting us back home to remember Jesus’ command that we are to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves.
From a quarter-million miles away, Victor Glover responded to the questions of Psalm 30:9; if he (and the Artemis crew) were going into permanent silence, the ‘gain’ would be that he was able to give a Gospel message, though brief, to his colleagues at NASA and the rest of us. His plea, not by words spoken but by his message, was the same as what David requested in Psalm 30:10, for the Lord to deliver him and his crewmates from the silence of the backside of the Moon, and return them safely back to Earth.
However, if that did not happen, his Faith would be like that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego prior to being thrown in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace in Daniel 3. They told ‘Neb’, in paraphrase, ‘Either God will deliver us out of the furnace alive, or He won’t – that’s His choice, and in either case, we will remain Faithful to Him.’ The reference Glover made prior to going radio silent is this, in his short recital of Jesus’ words, and his previous acts demonstrating his Faith.
David, in a synopsis of Psalm 30, tells of God protecting him against his enemies, healing his wounds, and giving him confidence in His security. When David was not acting Righteously, he knew God’s hand was moving away but he knew to repent and God, never leaving David, would grow closer to him. David was in great Joy when in the Lord’s presence and felt secure with the Lord there. Victor Glover conveys this similar Joy in the Lord, secure in His presence no matter where he is at.
Almost all of us, myself and all of you who are reading this particular Word-of-the-Day, are never going to leave Earth (at least as a mortal human) and go outside of it, let alone the Moon, or Mars, or some other extraterrestrial world. Neither did David, yet he, long before Victor Glover was floating in space, had the same Faith that Mr. Glover has in the Lord, and we should, too.
We may never be placed in a perilous situation, of being thrown in a furnace, a lion’s den, in a battle or firefight, or ready to leave all human contact; but our Faith should be like David’s or Victor’s, proclaiming Jesus as Lord, proclaiming our Faithfulness and demonstrating our love for Him, and anticipate the Lord’s mercy upon us regardless of outcome. Don’t go into the silence without first making sure your proclamation of Faith in Jesus is known to all who can see and hear you. Don’t go quietly into the night..
