 Image by Digiman on NightCafe | Ezekiel 22:30 says, "I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one." Oh dear. This hit me hard this morning when I read it. I believe that God is calling us to "stand in the gap" more than ever today. There is so much unrighteousness in our land—maybe even more than when this was written. I wonder why, when God calls me to stand in the gap, I hesitate...or don't pay attention at all. I say, “There is a lion in the street! (Proverbs 26:13) I had better stay in and not go out there!" |
I think maybe God has called me over and over to "stand in the gap" and I missed my chance.
Tommy was talking recently about a book he read called "Move Toward the Mess" (John Hambrick). Does that sound like something you would like to do? It certainly does NOT sound like something I would get up each day and say.
"Lord show me the nastiest thing I can do today, and let me head toward it!"
Nope. My prayers usually go something like this:
“Lord, thanks for giving me another day. Help me to feel good. Protect my family. Keep us all safe. Don't let anything bad happen to us."
I could go on, but you get the point. I cannot ever remember asking Him to move me toward a mess. In fact, I say, “Move me as far away as possible!"
Oh Lord, forgive me! There are a lot of messes in our world today. The wall of righteousness is indeed crumbling (if it hasn't already completely crumbled). If you are still looking for someone to stand in the gap, Lord, please choose me. I have to admit that I am not excited about the prospect, but I know that standing in any gap that you need someone to stand in is far better than not standing in it. And, running toward a mess is far better than running away. Mainly because if we run away, YOU aren't with us. You will be running or standing in the opposite direction of where we are going. I want to be in the gap and in the mess with You.
