Hello people! Can’t believe we’re on the cusp of finishing the first month of 2021! Simply awesome! Thank you for stopping by to read this final post on spiritual warfare.
After shedding light on the fact that we’re not necessarily fighting against people (check last week’s post) and exhorting us to put on the full armour of God (after all, we’re on the battlefield) in Ephesians 6:10-13a, Paul brings in this powerful phrase at the end of verse 13 (AMPC):
“having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].”
Basically, Paul is trying to say that after you have done all you should and can do, you’re just going to have to be still. When there’s no more activity to be done, no more phone calls to be made, no more appeals to be submitted, the only thing left to do is to stand your ground and wait patiently for God’s salvation.
It sounds easier than it looks, but standing still and waiting does not come naturally to us.
If my child or spouse have a problem, every neuron in my brain is programmed to want to move heaven and earth to fix it. But if I’m to go by Paul’s advice here, it means there will be plenty of times where I will exhaust every strategy/game plan available and the only option left on the table is to wait.
Do not let people’s good intentions make you rush ahead of God. It’s ok to be still.
Unvarnished Truth
Apart from our internal anxiety and desire to solve every problem we encounter, waiting is made difficult by people around us who will always think we should be doing more. Waiting will require you to have the courage of your conviction and a trailer-load of self-assurance not to be tempted into unnecessary activity because ‘some people’ (whose opinion you didn’t ask for) think you should be doing more.
Some people will say you’ve not prayed enough, you’ve not fasted enough, you’ve not done enough prayer vigils, etc. Truth is, their opinion (however well intentioned) is immaterial. You know what you have tried, you know how long you have tarried in the place of prayer, you know how many stones you have pelted Goliath with yet he’s still staring at you in the face (albeit with a slight headache 🙂 ). You and God know.
So, I want to encourage you today that when you feel like you’re at the end of your tether, it’s ok to simply stand strong in your place and wait for God. Stop running from one prayer mountain to the other, stop letting people send you on a guilt trip and make you feel obliged to listen to every suggestion (some of which will be downright misguided); simply be still and know that He is God. Sarah’s ‘brilliant idea’ in Genesis 16 only ended up complicating the situation for her family and generations to come.
A word of admonition to all of us ‘concerned onlookers’ who have an opinion on what people should be doing with their mountain. Please resist the temptation to judge. You don’t know, maybe they’ve done all they can and are now simply standing still and getting on with life the best they can while they wait for the Waymaker to come on stage. It is their mountain after all, let them be.
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Unvarnished 