|
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth....
(Eph. 6:11,13-14)
After you have done all to stand, this is the hour that you must stand your ground like never before. The Bible has much to say about standing. We are exhorted to stand still, to stand fast, to stand fast in faith, to stand fast in the Lord; and, then after we've done all, just stand!
"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord..."
(Ex. 14:13).
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you..."
(2 Chron. 20:17).
"Watch ye, standfast in the faith..."
(1 Cor. 16:13).
"For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord"
(1 Thess. 3:8).
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil"
(Eph. 6:11).
"...Having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth"
(Eph. 6:13-14).
Yes, the Bible does exhort us to stand! In fact, the word "stand" appears 274 times in the Bible. But, beloved, what does it mean to stand?
The Bible definition of the word "stand" means to abide, to continue, to hold up, to stand forth, to stand still, to stand up, to be stationary, to station yourself, to endure and to persevere. Wow! That's absolutely awesome!
Now, if that definition didn't make you shout right out of your socks, Webster's dictionary definition will. Webster defines "stand" as to take up or maintain a specified position. Not just a position, but also a specified position.
For example, to stand fast in faith concerning your healing. That's a specified position. That is a position of faith concerning healing (1 Peter 2:24)! Glory to God!
Also, to stand fast in the Lord concerning your children and spouse being saved. That is a stand of faith in the Lord and in His covenant promise concerning your whole house being saved (Acts 16:31).
Also, Webster defines "stand" as to maintain one's position, to hold a course. I like that holding a course. When you hold your course as a Christian during a storm, you refuse to allow the pressures and winds of the storm to turn your ship and take you off course. You refuse to allow the helm to be turned away from God, away from God's way of walking by faith rather than by sight or away from the Word of God, which strengthens your faith and helps you to maintain your course.
Holding your course also implies that you refuse to allow the pressure and force of the storm to influence your heart condition. You resist the force of fear, which is striving vehemently to make your heart fail under the pressure of the storm.
Standing and keeping your course, beloved, is holding firm in position the helm, which controls your senses and your thoughts. A helm is a lever or wheel, which controls the rudder of a ship for steering. Through controlling a small helm, the Captain is able to turn his ship whatever direction he desires.
Keep your mind stayed on the Word of God. Guard your heart. Guard what you expose yourself to. You feed your spirit man by what you listen to and what you see. Guard your thoughts. You, beloved, can control what you allow to stay in your mind. The devil constantly bombards our mind with thoughts, but we have control over what we allow to remain in our mind.
We have the ability to reject thoughts that come into our mind. That's why the Bible exhorts us to cast down inmaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
When the storms of life come blowing your way, and they will come, you must have your feet firmly planted upon God's Word so that you will still be standing after the storm has ceased.
If we did not have control over our thoughts and could not do this, we would not be told to do it. God is not going to cast down imaginations and bring those contrary thoughts, which come from the devil, into captivity for us. We have to do it. We must stand our ground firmly and maintain our course even in what we allow ourselves to think.
It is only when we keep our mind stayed upon Him and His Word, which imply maintaining our course in His direction, that He has promised to keep us in perfect peace! Isaiah 26:3 declares, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
Webster also defines "stand" as to support oneself on the feet, to rest or remain upright, to remain stationary. Glory to God! Do you see it beloved? Are you getting the revelation concerning standing?
To stand, beloved, simply means to firmly maintain your position and stand your ground on God's Word no matter what you're facing. It implies remaining unmoveable the same way you do when all is going smoothly.
The only way that you can stand your ground firmly during the storms of life is to have your feet planted on the Word of God. Ephesians 6:14 calls it having your loins girt about with truth and exhorts us to just stand, after we have done all we can do, to stand.
The word "truth" in verse 14 is referring to the Word of God because God's Word is truth. Jesus prayed in John 17:17 for God to sanctify us through truth, and that truth He was talking about is the Word of God.
Beloved, the only way that you can endure the storms of life without being consumed by them is that you must become rooted and grounded in the Word of God before the storm hits. It is almost impossible to build a house during a storm. It is equally as difficult to become strong in faith while you are undergoing one of life's storms. It can be done however but it takes much more strength and tenacity to build during the storm than it would when all is calm.
Change the Image Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed