What Is Our Posture?

When I was at school in the early sixties small green badges with a letter ‘P’ were sometimes awarded to girls for good posture.

In those days good posture and deportment were strongly encouraged and were all part of conducting yourself as a young woman. To the friends who know me well and who know about my school days, it will come as no surprise that I wasn’t awarded this badge or in fact any other!

When I was praying for a friend recently I felt God drop this word ‘posture’ into my mind and I wondered why.

I began to think about how our physical posture often reflects how we are feeling about ourselves.

It’s well recognized that someone who is confident and assured will hold their head up high, make good eye contact and have a relaxed and open manner.

Whereas someone who is depressed will probably slouch their shoulders with arms hanging down, struggle to make eye contact and generally look as though they are carrying a great burden on their shoulders and a look that says Why Bother?

As believers and much loved sons and daughters we are called to display a different posture, a posture of peace to a world that desperately needs to know the Prince of Peace.

Our outward posture demonstrates our inner peace and only as we truly grasp the love with which we are loved and who we really are!

In Song of Songs Chapter 7, the Shulammite maiden is described as having eyes that are pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. As pools of water are clear and still, so her inner life exudes great peace and calm to those who look on her. Heshbon means stronghold and Bath-rabbim means daughter of many. She is seen as a stronghold for the Lord and as a unique daughter among many. She reflects the life and light of her King.

In Luke 11 Jesus speaks about our eye being the lamp of our body and that when our eye is healthy, our whole body is full of light

In the first letter of John Chapter 4, He writes about God abiding in us. That when we truly know and believe the love God has for us, his love is perfected in us. This is a mature love. The love that is described in Song of Songs.

John goes on to say that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Knowing we are loved like this should cause us to walk with our head held high looking straight ahead full of hope and certainty that if God is for us who can be against us.

This kind of posture that reflects an inner place of rest is most attractive to the world. It is surely this presence of God in us that will cause the poor and needy who are seeking water to come to us as described in Isaiah 41. Through us the Lord will answer them.

Before Jesus birth Zechariah prophesied concerning John the Baptist that he would go before the Lord to prepare his ways, that he would give light to those in darkness and in the shadow of death and would guide their feet into the way of peace.

We are called to proclaim his peace. This peace that Jesus promised. A peace that would dispel all fear and anxiety.

We learn this great peace and deep calm by loving his word and holding fast to it. Psalm 119:165 says, Great peace have those who love your law nothing can make them stumble and Psalm 91 reminds us of the place where we are called to dwell. A place of rest.

I wonder do you ever have people ask you “what is it about you, there is something different about you?” or “You seem so happy or so peaceful” People should be asking us these questions because we carry the presence of the King of Kings. We are like chariots in which he rides, announcing salvation, announcing peace and proclaiming our God reigns.

As He is so are we in this world 1 John 4:17