Stand Firm

 

Today I'm going to be sharing with you in regards to standing. Just to stand when you have gotten to a point where you no longer know what to do. The Bible says, ``Stand firm.”

In Ephesians chapter 6 verse 13.

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 firm.

Stand when you have done all you know to do.

When you have prayed, when you have confessed, when you have put on the armor of God. When you have even had times of worship and fasting and you still don't know what to do, the Bible says, ‘stand firm.’

Well just what is that, what does that mean.

Well we always hear the phrase stand on the word of God, but what does it mean to stand on the word of God? Does it mean put the Bible down on the ground, get on top of it and just stand and see what happens? No.

I want to go to David. King David in the Bible is one of the greatest kings that Israel had and I want to read from 1st Samuel chapter 30 and in verse 6.

Before we get to verse 6 let me set the stage for this. David and his men were away and while they were away from a town called Ziklag, the Amalekites came in and they raided against them. They raided against the Negeb and against Ziklag, burned the whole city down and they took all of the women and all of the children. This means that a lot of the women were wives of these soldiers of David, including 2 women who were David's wives, and the children were the children of these men also.

Then when they came back on the third day into Ziklag, they saw what had happened and they saw that the whole city had been burned down and all of the women and children were gone, and David's men became so distressed.

Verse 6 says, ‘and David was greatly distressed for the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. What does this mean?

David had already lived through so many scenarios growing up. When he was a shepherd he fought off a lion and he fought off a bear protecting the sheep, and God gave him victory in those incidents.

We know that David came when the Philistines were coming against Israel and Goliath the giant was continuously mocking God and badgering the army of Israel, and while all of the army of Israel were sitting there cowering because of this one giant, this young man, who knew God was with him, gathered stones, got his sling, and went before Goliath with God and slew Goliath. David knew that God had given the giant Goliath into his hand and David took Goliath’s sword and cut the head off of the giant. That was a victory God had given him.

He had many victories even after that. He had to run from Saul for so many years, where Saul was trying to put him to death, and God gave him victory after victory, and kept him safe from Saul.

The Bible says that God will always make a way out for us. David was victorious all the time and he knew that God had given him every one of these victories.

So what the Bible is saying is this, David knew the Torah, he understood the teachings of the Torah. He understood who God was. He knew God was with him. He knew God personally, intimately. He would spend time with God worshiping. He also remembered all of the victories that God gave him in his past.

So he strengthened himself, not only in remembering the truth of the word of God, he also reminded himself of all of the victories that God had given him all through those times.

The Bible teaches us that God is always for us, never against us. He wants us to be the head, He has called us to be the head not the tail. He has given us the victory and not defeat, and it's all a matter of trust. Trusting Him.

Many of us are going through so many situations in our lives right now. Situations to the point that we are all feeling so much pressure emotionally, physically, even spiritually. We have been battling through spiritual warfare for a long season, and we're all growing weary.

All of us are going through different battles in our own individual cases, and each one of us is being squeezed. The enemy is trying to stop us from reaching the destiny that God has placed before us.

God has given each of us a beautiful plan and a destiny that He wants us to reach, and we have to trust in Him, and just like David, we have to continue to remind ourselves what the word of God says. We have to remind ourselves of the times where God has gotten us through scenarios that almost took us out in life. Sicknesses, diseases, accidents, financial demeanors, that we have all gone through and struggled through.

It does get hard sometimes just to even get out of bed. We have to trust God like David did. David encouraged himself, reminded himself, remembered the word of God, remembered the scriptures and what God did for the children of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt. David remembered what God did for him with the bear, the lion, with Goliath, with all of the different times that he was running and hiding from Saul.

David encouraged himself by remembering all this.

In Isaiah 41:10, God was encouraging all of Israel. Israel was going through a dilemma and God was encouraging them all through chapter 41 and I want to focus on verse number 10. It says, ‘fear not.’ That's how it starts. ‘Fear not, don't be afraid. For I am with you.’ God is telling us, and He's reminding us with His word, that He is with us.

See it doesn't matter what it looks like in the natural.

We have to try to take our eyes off of the natural, and look up and focus on God and focus on His word, the truth of His word, and remind ourselves of what He's done for us in the past.

When we start reminding ourselves of how He has brought us through situations in the past, even situations we got ourselves into, we can see that God never lets us down, He never has left us, He has never forsaken us.

So, ‘Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you.’

It's not even that we have to rely on our own strength, He will strengthen us Himself.

So continuing, ‘I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’

We have to remind ourselves God is with us. He is not a man who can lie. He is good, He is love, and every thought He has for us is a loving thought. He wants good for us, He wants blessings for us, He loves us dearly and He is reminding us here. He will strengthen us. He will help us. He will even uphold us with His righteous hand.

We don't need to be afraid, we don't need to be discouraged, we don't need to be dismayed. We can be encouraged knowing that He is with us.

So encourage yourself in the word of God. Strengthen yourself in the word of God. Remind yourself of the victories He has already brought you through and keep moving towards your destiny that God has for you. Do Not allow the enemy to steal it from you.

Stand Firm.

God bless you.

Shalom.