STAND – When you have done all to stand

Read below and listen as you read. Voiced by Chioma Phillips:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13

*All scriptures are taken from the NKJV, unless otherwise stated

Intro

We are in the very midst of the evil day that is spoken of, and he who does not stand for something, will certainly fall for anything. And he who falls for anything is rightly called unwise because he is unstable in all his ways and he cannot get anything from God. But care also must be taken to know what to stand on, for many stand on things that have no base or true foundation and by that the whole world is out of course. And because men have lost the ability to stand as gods that God called them, they are destroyed as mere men who have no clue about what life is really about.

Take a stand

The statement that he who does not stand for something will fall for anything, has been for ages and it’s not about to change, both in principle and in the reality of life. Why? To stand for something worth standing for, is the beginning of faithfulness and faithfulness is the beginning of the blessedness that comes from having conquered all fears and the things that easily beset us. To stand is to take a position of strength; it is the ability to be resolute, immovable, consistent and true after seeing in faith the reality or substance of the things which are to come. In a sense, life does not always give us what we deserve but it always presents to us what to stand on and for. For the making of our lives into that which becomes eternal blessing is tied to how much of the mind and thoughts of God we carry, which creates in us such deep connection to that which is unseen but which reality is true in and through our lives.

To be blessed is beyond having money, beyond possessing the goods of this life and the many other things that men chase after and which they erroneously attribute to being blessed and for which reason they never really connect with things of eternal value. To be blessed of God means to have realities of eternity attached to our lives and for which generations unborn are already proclaimed blessed, because we passed through this place called earth. But such eternal blessings do not rest in the bosom of the unstable and the ones that stand for nothing. For the scriptures say about him who seeks for wisdom but who is unstable: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8.

So from all indication, taking a stand for something takes its root from being anchored, in faith, to God and being faithful to whatever it is that He has given for man to be faithful in.

What do you stand for?

It sounds like a simple question, and it is actually, even though it is beyond simple. There are lots of people who stand for nothing except for the expectations of others. And there are those whose constant demeanor is that of confusion about what their life’s purpose is about. For those who stand on the expectations of others, their whole life, living, actions and even thinking are based on what others expect from them and not on what is required of them for their purpose and destiny in God. They run around life in high heels and fine suits, tinted glasses that constantly paint the sun as dark, so their perspective is never of a bright and clear day. They see life from a dark glass and then think that the sun is brown and everyone else is colored. All of that they do just to make someone accept them and by that they are never stable on the solid ground of their own personal conviction, based on who they are in God and what their life’s destinies are in God. For whenever the people, the doctrines and the things they stand on take a shift, they are the first to be hit and because they have no personal foundational conviction, they never move forward. But the question that will always remain to be answered is; what do you stand for and on what are you standing?

Yes, there are seasons in our lives in which the one thing our life was created for brings with it several other connected things that make us look as though, in the eyes of men, that we are not standing for something, or that we are scattered in many directions. And that is fine really, for it’s needed for the purposes of balance and true stability. But there are seasons in which we must take a pause and relook again at the one thing that makes us, us. When the Apostle Paul said “One thing I do”, it didn’t mean he only did one thing, but that in the particular case of dealing with the issues of the past, he does one thing, that is, he puts the past behind him, looking forward into the future and the hope of his calling in Christ. And one of his constant hopes and the ground on which he stood was “that I may be found in Him”. This brings me to the next question.

What are you standing on?

Every building, institution, system, life, destiny, purpose must be built on a ground and how that building will stand the test of time and the storms that come with life, is dependent on what your ground is made of. If it is sand, it will fall but if it is a rock, it will stand. The question of what are you standing on also ties to the question of what are you building?

These are critical questions which, if answered accurately, will give clear understanding and a pathway to becoming all that we are meant to become here on earth and in eternity. About standing and building accurately, Jesus gave a very insightful statement in Matthew 7:24-26. It says:“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” In one succinct statement, He made it clear that you cannot build anything of worth in this life until you know what God has said to you, until you have a solid ground on which to build what God has said to you and until what you are building carries in it eternal realities. And that’s why when God gave Abraham the land of Canaan as an inheritance both for him and his descendants, he turned his eyes away from that land which is physical and anchored his heart to the city which is unseen and whose builder and maker is God. It is expected of everyone who will carry the realities of God in their lives to have the Abrahamic approach to life, otherwise, men will build things that will be burnt up with time.

There are those who have taken their life’s stand on their family’s wealth, political connection, business, their jobs, skills etc. But just like the floods and the wind that blew on the houses in the story of Jesus above, Covid-19 somehow came to show anyone who is paying attention to what is going on globally, that the society we have so painstakingly built over the centuries and which we called the modern age, is nothing but a house of cards built on a heap of sand. Yeah, you heard me. Sand houses, sand technologies, sand businesses, sand economies, sand family system, sand educational system, sand government systems etc.; all brought down and made redundant by an unseen and unkind virus. So for him who has an iota of wisdom, let him look clearly and also see that nothing which is built on the sandy fantasy of man’s mind will last. So what are you standing on and what are you building? Let me put this little thought here for whoever is open to consider thinking about it.

Are you aware that we are at the end of this second age which started with Noah and his family, when they were saved through the flood that removed the first age? (See Hebrews 11:7) Are you aware that just as Noah and his family were the ones that began the second age that we are in right now, so shall there also be persons, people and families that will begin the third age? Are you aware that rapture is not some kind of flying to heaven like movies have shown us, but a change from mortality into immortality and that heaven is coming to us and not we going to heaven as it were? (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and Revelation 5:10) Are you aware that it is what you do now, what you stand for now and upon whom or what you stand that will determine your place in the third age that is coming shortly? (See Luke 19:12-27) Are you aware that the third age that is to come is not in the hands of angels but will be under the dominion of man? (See Hebrews 2:5-8) The question is this, is your life, your work and what you are building worthy of a place in the third age, that is, the kingdom of Christ that is coming? Think about it. For whatsoever a man does with what he has been given in faithfulness, so shall he be rewarded with rulership in the age that is to come.

See a proverb that Jesus gave in Luke 19:12-27 “Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas. And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’(But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”

Do all to stand and build on a solid rock

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;…Ephesians 6:14-17.

Concerning standing or taking a stand for whatever it is that God has called us to take a stand for, there will always be things, people, institutions, systems that will stand against us, especially when what we stand for does not resonate with their own agenda or what they think we should stand for. And in such situations and even in all situations, we must be guarded by what Paul called the armor of God. Broken into parts we have:

The belt of truth, which holds the sword of the Spirit to our side. And by this we are called those who walk with God in spirit and in truth. Spirit being our eternal reality and truth being the physical mirror of our eternal self and which creates our lifestyle and faith patterns on earth.
The breastplate of righteousness, which covers our hearts and guards us against the arrows of lies and false doctrines that are sent by the enemy to turn our hearts away from God.
Shoes of the gospel of Christ, that is, the testimony of our life in God. The walk of faith is about testimony and so also is the gospel. So when Jesus told the disciples or those who will come after him to go and preach the gospel, He wasn’t just talking about going to tell others what Apostle Paul or Peter or Moses wrote, He was saying go and preach or tell others the gospel of your own testimony and convictions in your faith walk with God. And that’s why concerning Enoch it was written thus “…and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (See Hebrews 11:5). And it also applies to all who walked with God that their faith walk and their gospel was the testimony of their lives with God.
The shield of faith by which we are convinced that no matter what happens to us, we are complete in God. Let me say it here, that faith is not that faulty pattern of using positive affirmations to get the things that give strength to our desires and for which many live in errors of worldliness. The shield of faith is the personal conviction about God that fills our hearts to the point where no matter what happens, our hearts never shift from the truth that God is always with and for us.
The helmet of salvation, which guards our mental space away from the battle of thoughts and seeds of wrong ideas. We are in the days of the ten toes, the iron and the clay which never merge together. It’s the days of the battle of the mind and thoughts. The days in which ideas and doctrines that are daily poured into our mental atmosphere to create doubts and unbelief about God in us. The helmet of salvation will stand as the true defense against such mental attacks. Salvation being the reality of a heart position of safety found in God and a mouth speaking truth found in the Spirit of God.
The sword of Spirit, which is the word of God. Everything on earth, both seen and unseen began with the Word of God. But there is something that we all must know, that is, the word of God is not just what is written in the Bible, for the Bible clearly contains words of men and even of the devil. The Word of God is Christ Himself who is the coming King. (See Revelation 19:13)

In conclusion, what are you called to stand for? What are you standing on even as you take a stand for what you are called to stand for? What are you building and by what are you guarded even as you stand and build? But what does it mean to stand in our daily lives? It means; have you done all to sing? Then sing. Have you done all to be a graphics artist? Then be a graphics artist. Have you done all to be a better person? Then be a better person. Have you done all to walk with God? Then walk with God. Have you done all to write a book? Then write a book. Have you done all to stand? Then stand.

I pray that the Lord keeps you and makes you stand and build upon Him as the Rock of Ages that does not fail nor is carried away by the winds and storms of life.

God bless you. From your brother.