Oh, to Stand

The little word "stand" calls my attention today...
How many times, and in how many ways, the Bible calls us to stand.

From the time of Abraham we read of God's people standing up.
     It seems, of course, to speak of something more than a mere physical standing.
          It seems to be a statement of faith, commitment, and determination.

Paul in the New Testament exhorts us to  " withstand.. and having done all to stand." (Eph. 6.13)

It is the result of a quickening within that rises in the face of challenge.

     It is a standing to commence the battle,
          a standing throughout the battle.
               and a standing at the  end of the battle.

It is a rising up from things below,
     up from the mire and clay of earth,
          from weakness and apathy,
               from the impossibilities which would hem us in,
                    from the fears, the uncertainties, and the pressures of darkness.

It is a standing in the power of the Living Spirit within,
     it is a quickening of our mortality by the Immortal One.

It is a gathering to ourselves all that we have known and experienced of God.
     It is an unshakeable determination to hold that which has been given to us.
          It is a reaching out to "Thy Kingdom come." (Mat. 6.10)

      To Stand is to possess.
          To stand with God, is to possess the  Kingdom for which we pray.