Standing in the Gap

Standing in the Gap (Ezekiel 22:30)

Yesterday's Bible reading took me back to Ezekiel. One verse in five chapters jumped out at me. I knew as soon as I read it that it provided the theme for this Freedom Fighter. Hear what God said to Ezekiel in chapter 22, verse 30: "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

God was looking for someone who would stand between Israel and God's judgment. No one chose to stand. Not one person made himself available to God for the people of Israel. The people sinned openly and rampantly, but no one spoke up. No one pleaded with God for their correction.

I doubt that God will ever ask us to stand in the gap for a whole nation. He may ask us to stand in the gap for a church. He almost certainly will ask us to stand in the gap for some individual. Let me see if I can show you how that might work.

During the last couple of weeks, a good friend of mine became aware of a defect in my character that was hurting my service to God and damaging relationships with the very people God has called me to serve. This friend of mine, a pastor, chose to step into the gap for me. It was risky; he could have offended me and damaged our relationship. He could have stepped out of the picture and left me alone. That would have been easier and more comfortable for him.



Instead, he confronted me. He told me what he had discovered and warned me about the consequences if I did not deal with the issue. He did more than that. He offered to help me. He made himself available to counsel me, pray with me, and hold me accountable. I believe God spoke to him because He (God) knew I needed someone to stand in the gap for me.

Let me share three things that I think help people like you and me stand in the gap for friends who need us. First, if we stand in the gap, we pay attention. We are aware of what is going on around us. We care enough about the people in our lives to pay attention to them. We notice when something isn't quite right. Standing in the gap is more than that, however. We also choose to make ourselves available. We do not say we're too busy. We don't say we're not knowledgeable enough.

As God leads us to step into the gap, we choose to say yes to His leading. Finally, when we stand in the gap we accept the need to be assertive. We choose interaction over neglect. We choose confrontation over keeping the peace.

When God asks us to stand in the gap, He does so because the person for whom we stand in the gap has value. They are too important to neglect. They are too valuable to settle for keeping the peace. As Mordecai said to Queen Esther, "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? God puts us in relationships because we need each other. God may have brought my good friend into my life for just this time. He chose to stand in the gap for me!

I want you to think about people in your life. Who might need you to stand in the gap for them? You also might want to think about who may need to stand in the gap for you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that someone is willing to stand in the gap for me. All of us need someone for whom we can stand and someone who will stand for us. - Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for YOU: Psalm 23-25; Acts 21:18-40

Think about this: Once you look at the cross, you can't look at anything else, no matter how horrid it appears, and infer that God's intention is to do us harm. The truth is that God is good. - William Backcus

Tomorrow evening starts our first Victory Week of the summer season. Our speakers this week are Drs. Charles Zimmer and Dave Wryzten. We'd love to have you join us. The evening sessions are at 7:00 PM and the mornings at 9:30 AM. For information, contact 732-350-1187 or download the brochure at http://www.americaskeswick.org/.