Do you feel pressured to "leave this place," marriage, church, neighborhood, or job? (Lk 13:31) Be careful! Satan may be trying to outfox you (see Lk 13:32) by manipulating you into changing your plans. Satan wants to push you into being at the wrong place at the wrong time. "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the Lord will win for you today!" (Ex 14:13) "The Lord Himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still" (Ex 14:14). "By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies" (Is 30:15). "Do all that your duty requires, and hold your ground. Stand fast" (Eph 6:13-14).

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to not do anything. However, we can refuse to panic or even budge because:

• "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rm 8:31)
• "Is it possible that He Who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?" (Rm 8:32)
• "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rm 8:35)
• "In all this we are more than conquerors because of Him Who has loved us" (Rm 8:37).

Because we are secure in God's love, we don't have to hurry up, speak up, move up, move away, or run away. We are stable and free in His love.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, March 22, 1997

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 26, 1997