Having done all – STAND.
I can’t tell you how many times my dad said these words to me while he was on this earth. As an ‘achiever’, a ‘fixer’, and somewhat of a perfectionist this is probably the hardest thing for me to do – because it doesn’t seem like you are DOING anything!
Just standing seems counterproductive when times get hard. My inclination is to put my nose to the grindstone, to roll up my sleeves and fix the world’s problems. Can I let you in on my dad’s little secret? None of us are equipped to fix the world’s problems. Jesus did that on the cross and our only job, as Christians, is to point the world to Him. It is not always our place to defend ourselves, our position, or our beliefs. One of the most powerful moments in the story of the crucifixion was when Jesus just stood. He had done all, and now He stood before the Sanhedrin without defending Himself. (Mark 14:53-61)
What was happening when He was just standing?
I was re-reading one of my favorite books recently, “Secrets of the Secret Place” by Bob Sorge, and there was a chapter on standing. The book is all about your personal time with God and Bob finds amazing ideas of strength from the idea of standing:
“When you retreat to the secret place, you are standing in the Spirit together with all the saints on the sea of glass and gazing upon the One who is seated on the throne. Even though your eyes are veiled so you can’t see with the natural eye, you are still standing directly before the Throne!”
WOW! Now that is not doing nothing! When you stand, you are before the King of All – petitioning Him with your presence for His next directive in your life. For what He wants you to speak, to do, or where to go.
I wonder (don’t pull a doctrine out of this) what Jesus was seeing, feeling, and hearing as He just stood while being accused, abused, and facing the cross? Was He hearing the Father through the Holy Spirit, saying
My Son:
STAND! Stand in the power of this Throne room.
STAND! Stand in the power of the knowledge of Who You are.
STAND! Stand in the power of My peace in the midst of Your worst day.
The world we live in stands in opposition to just about everything we believe as Christians. They point fingers at us for gathering to worship Jesus. Angry mobs come against Believers on social media and in person with accusations of not caring at all or not caring enough. What should we do when it seems we are accosted from every side?
Having done all…STAND!
STAND! Stand in the power of the Throne room.
STAND! Stand in the power of the knowledge of who you are in Christ.
STAND! Stand in the power of His peace, until He tells you to move.
Then, when you move, it will be done with sure footedness and the knowledge that you are ONLY doing what you see the Father in heaven doing. (John 5:19) When you speak, it will be with His words that will draw men unto Him. When the world comes against you, DO NOT MOVE. DO NOT SPEAK. Until you have learned to STAND.