"Stand"

"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


Daily living on this earth tends to require each individual to stand for something.  There are people who float through each day kinda going with whatever comes their way.  They go where others tell them, they do what the majority does, they want to be liked and want to lay low and not cause any ripples.  When I was younger, I tried to be like the people I just described.  I never wanted to cause any friction and I believed that if I just went with the flow everything would turn out fine.  When I became an adult I realized that I could continue to go with the flow but everything wouldn't always be just fine.  I realized that if I didn't speak up for myself, my likes, my dislikes, and my desires, I'd go through life unhappy. 

Since coming to this realization, the enemy has been busy crafting ways and situations to stir me up.  Although, I still do not consider myself confrontational, I do realize that I have a voice and that my opinion does matter and should be heard (at certain times). 

Being a praying person, I've submitted many prayer requests to God in the last few years; some have already been answered while others have yet to be manifested.  There have been times when I just tried to stay quiet, just tried to go with the flow, just tried to let things work themselves out, but after a while, I've found myself very unhappy.  At times it is best to be quiet, but then there are those times when you just can't!  I've learned that there comes a time when I must stop talking and just stand my ground.  Standing in the midst of trials is not easy and never will be but after you know that you've done all you can there's really no other choice.  Will I forget about my desires and dreams because others choose to ignore them?  Should I give up on God blessing me by answering certain prayers because it seems impossible for them to come to life?  The answer is no!

Sometimes standing means letting people or things go, it may mean taking a break from something or someone, it may mean shifting your focus, it may mean making new friends or trying new things.  It may mean any of these and some that I didn't mention, but I've come to know that God knows how much each of us can bear, He knows that we all come to an end/a wall with our trials and He wants us to know that He is there to do the rest, to handle the part that we can't. 

The things we can't seem to accomplish on our own, the tasks that seem impossible to finish, the dreams that look like they're on life support, are all the things that we have to give over to God.  Our job is then to stand up tall and stand on God's promises to complete the good work that he began when the ideas, dreams and desires were placed in our hearts.

Song to listen to: "Stand" - BeBe Winans