“..having done all, stand firm…” Ephesians 6:13
Faced with difficult circumstances, provoked by fear, up against a wall, desperately looking to get out of the line of fire…you make a choice.
Put up your fists and fight like the devil? High tail it out of their heading for greener pastures? Or…dig in your heels, set your chin in determination, straighten your back, look up out of the pit, and make a stand?
I can think of several times in my life where the going got tough and this tough girl got going…I literally pulled up stakes and ran. I left behind a wake of broken hearts as well as a path strewn with belongings that someone else had to pick up and deal with. I am not proud of those times. I remember the pain involved. Those decisions, however, brought me to where I am today.
Today, I am reading a study on Acts and particularly chapter twenty seven, in which the apostle Paul is being taken as a prisoner to stand before Caesar to appeal false accusations against himself. He is aboard a ship that is caught in a hurricane. The sailors, were ready to abandon ship for fear of capsizing. Paul, spoke out, firmly, that they needed to stay with the ship, having been told by an angel of God, to take courage, that their lives would be saved.
Pointedly, he also said, “I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”
The faith in that statement carries a powerful weight! You can feel it in its finality. Who can argue with it?
I have to ask myself the very question. Do I believe God?! Do I believe what He has told me, in His Word? Repeatedly I have seen the miraculous. I have seen the answers to prayers. I have read the miracles in the Bible. I have been led step by step. How can I not believe Him?
When I am challenged by darkness, or when I trip over my own feet, do I still believe it will turn out the way God said it would?
When things don’t look like they are going the way I want or the way God said they would go, do I become fearful, or disappointed or mad? Do I throw in the towel and run? Do I hide when I fail? Do I pretend it wasn’t me with Jesus, when I am being accused of hanging out with Him? When it’s unpopular to be a Christian or to stand for conservative values, or to defend the unborn, will I duck and run for cover or will I admit that yes, it was I who spent time with the Savior and I will continue to declare the truth and defend LIFE.??
The questions are real and they are hard. We live in times where our faith must be real and we must stand firm and trust what God has said.
If we do fold under pressure, and I speak from experience… then we get up, brush off our knees, turn our eyes on Jesus and make a stand, walking in the covering of grace.
Thank You sweet Lord, for your tender mercies that are new every morning!
“Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm!”