CONTINUING TO STAND

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Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore…”
When you’re discouraged, when the situation looks bleak, when you feel you’ve done everything you know to do and nothing seems to be improving, the bible tells us to “stand therefore.” In other words, what you should do when you just don’t know what to do is STAND.

​“Take up” in this passage means to take up, raise up, pick up, carry off, or lead away. These actions both imply an effort on your part to rise up, and an effort to press forward.

“Withstand” in this passage means “to set against, withstand, resist, oppose” which tells me that in order to stand firm on your ground, you are going to have to fight. Taking a passive stance is NOT an option.

So where do you start?
John 1:1-4                                       1 John 1:1-4

The bible tells us that in the beginning was the word (John 1:1) and in him (the word) was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:4). It also tells us that we have heard, seen with our eyes, and touched with our hands is the power of God through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-2). The power of God to bring light and life to us is in the word of God. And when we believed on Jesus Christ as Lord and became Christians, we experienced the power of God to bring light and life to us through the Word (or through Jesus).
So, we start with the Word of God.

Seek the will of God with your whole heart. Call out to him and he will answer you and show you a vision of your future.
Jeremiah 33:2-3                              Psalm 61:1-4

Once you know the Will of God for you, stand on that Word. Remember the will of God is the word of God.

• Job, who said, “…I have esteemed the words of his [God’s] mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12);
• David, who wrote, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalms 40:8);
• Jeremiah, who said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16);
• Jesus Christ, who declared, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

When God speaks, He keeps his promises. He is faithful to a thousand generations to keep that promise to you (Deut 7:9). He spoke and worlds came into being, so why wouldn’t it be the same that when he speaks to us our destiny our whole world will change because of his word? (Psalm 33:9) He character trait of faithfulness is so absolute, that in order to be unfaithful to his word he would have to cease being himself! (2 Tim 2:13)
Hebrews 10:32-39

After they were enlightened of the truth, they faced opposition and struggled. So if you feel that you are doing everything right and still it seems as if everything is working against you, that’s when you have need of endurance. Don’t throw away your confidence when things look bleak or become a struggle! (Hebr 10:35)

God is faithful. He faithfulness doesn’t diminish because we expected something to happen in a certain amount of time, or in a certain way, and it didn’t happen the way we thought it should. He is still faithful. Don’t give up. Fight with determination, make an effort to pick up and put your armor on, and stand.

Footnotes:

• Make sure you are, in fact, pursuing the will of God. (If it’s God’s will it will be compatible with the teachings of the Bible, and if it’s specific to your life it will be confirmed to you on multiple occasions so that you know for sure it’s from God.) How? Just ask Him.
• Make sure you are humbled and submitted to the Lord. Nothing will divert your destiny as quickly as a hard heart and determination to do what you want despite the Lord’s leading. (James 4:1-10)
• Sin has no place in a Christian’s life. You are free from sin, so don’t walk in it any longer (Rom 6:1-2).
• Unforgiveness has no place in a Christian’s life. Do your best, as much as it depends on you, to be at peace with everyone (Rom 12:8).
• Pride has no place in a Christian’s life. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God so that he can exalt you in His timing (1 Pet 5:6).

Other than these 5 “potholes” any other apparent deviation in your life from the will of God is just an attack of the enemy. That means it’s time to stand. Stand therefore. When everything looks black: stand. When it seems in the natural as if there is no way for the will of God to come to pass: stand.

Ephesians 6:13-18
1 Peter 1:3-7

Standing when it doesn’t make natural sense to keep standing, is standing in confidence in God. And the bible tells us that standing in this way causes our faith to be found genuine: a faith which is more valuable than gold.

By Sarah Leonard