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. Ephesians 6:13
“Stand Your Ground” isn’t primarily a political, Second Amendment, Self-Defense concept. It’s a biblical principle. It’s about securing the protection of God, which is spiritual preparation and then standing.
Let’s think for a minute what it means to “Stand.”
To stand means we are responsible for a territory. That strikes deep at the heart. Most of us frankly avoid responsibility. If we have to have responsibility we like to “share” it. We don’t witness because that’s the preacher’s responsibility. We don’t teach our children about the Lord, isn’t that the Sunday School teacher’s job? Yet to be told we are to stand means that we are to stand somewhere. For starters, it means standing where we are.
To stand means we stand at home. It is most difficult to stand among our family. We can stand at church; most of those people only see us a couple of hours a week. We can fake it for that long. But if I have to stand at home that means my wife, my kids, my grand and great grands have to see me stand 24/7. That’s a full-time job. That’s a lot of pressure. Yes, it is.
To stand means we trust. To “just stand” means while we are responsible for our territory, we aren’t the power behind what happens. We are “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” It’s easy to slip while we are standing. Our trust begins to slip from the Lord to something else. We may begin to trust in ourselves. That’s always a mistake. As the political season begins we may begin to believe the answer is in Washington. How’s that working out for you? We may begin to trust in something beside God as our source: our employer, our bank, our government. Stand means to trust in only Him. It means underSTANDing that the battle is spiritual.
Standing isn’t about movement; it’s about steadfastness. That’s an old-fashioned word. It means unwavering, firm in purpose, fixed in direction. It’s a single-minded focus on Jesus. It’s not the unpreparedness of sitting. In the military it means a cessation of movement; and a preparation to respond to new orders.
Standing is a lost art. We are creatures of perpetual movement, putting one step in front of the other. Plodding along, even when we don’t know where we are headed or why. It takes discipline to freeze in place, ready to move in whatever direction we are commanded to go.
Standing is hard. Even three years after knee surgery and renewed effort at being physically active, the hardest thing I find to do is to stand. I can walk. I can move around. Standing, for example during worship at church, remains tiring and difficult.
To stand means to stand now. Standing isn’t something we did once and that’s it. It doesn’t mean standing some day soon. It means standing now and to keep on standing forever.
Don’t just sit there.
Do the tough thing. Stand and be blessed.
Nick
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