IN THE WORD WEDNESDAYS #IWW – 6.6.12
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Standing Your Ground
Because of the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman saga, the concept of standing one’s ground has become a nationally recognized controversy. Though the legality of using deadly force on another person upon discomfort of fear for one’s life has been rightly debated, standing your ground in the face of trials and in the midst of storms is certainly a charge we should seek to fulfill. When our circumstances may shake us and our relationships are on the brink of disaster, sometimes what’s best to do is to just stand. Even when doubt, frustration, and turmoil threaten to disarm us, in God there is a bastion of hope that provides us with the will to go on.
In standing there is faith. We’ve got to know that we are standing through something that will eventually pass. Just because we stand, it doesn’t mean we’re stuck. In standing there is hope. Something is coming. We refuse to crumble. We refuse to give up. As followers of Jesus Christ we know barriers can be thresholds. And in standing there is love. We must operate in such a way that we endure what comes to us. Whether loved ones hurt us or whether we regretfully engage in (in)actions that hurt others, we’ve got to possess the type of love that enables us to break the chains of neglect and abandonment.
To stand firm we must first cover ourselves. Before we enter situations where we anticipate challenge I encourage us to ask God to guard our hearts, prepare our minds, and protect our spirits. And although we may not always be able to foresee hardship, we can always expect it. Covering, then, should be a constant process. Then we’ve got to actually do all we can. We have to be honest with ourselves about how far we’re stretching. This takes balance because sometimes we can overextend ourselves in ways that weaken our stance and harm us. And we’ve got to know that when we stand with God we’re standing on solid ground. God will intercede, for we won’t be standing alone. After you’ve done all you can, just stand!
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