Standing in the Gap

The most immutable person I know is my husband; what an amazing man! I will not lie to you: God is still working on my ability to show patience and mercy, and I have a LOT of learning to do. Yet He has given me a husband who excels at both. And, man, is it humbling! Isn't it funny how God uses the actions and kindness of others to convict? I can think of more than one occasion just today where I made life difficult and he had every right to just quit being so nice; but he never does. You see, when life gets tough, I interpret that as the "time to move on" signal from God; how naive, and yes, weak!! Fortunately, my husband is much stronger and wiser than I; otherwise, God would have "called" us to several different life situations by now, and we'd be well on our way to living on a secluded island somewhere.

I am the chief offender of chalking up hardship to being "out of God's will." Jobs, people, cities; I mean, I'm even reading to a book to try and figure out what to eat and not eat in order to avoid cancer. Whatever makes life easy...yes, I am weak. But God calls us to tough situations: daily actually. Luke 9:23- "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily, and follow Me." So loneliness, depression, difficulty all should be encouraging. Jesus even warned us in Matthew 9:37- "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Clearly this is not gonna be an easy walk on this earth!

God is searching for people to stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30). This is not a small task or a "group" effort. It is a call to loneliness and discouragement. But it is a call to serve the ultimate calling. I mean think about it: if it were an easy job He would have to look very long for people to fill it.

What "gap" has God called you to fill? Could it be that the difficult situation in which you've found yourself is right in the middle of God's plan? In the midst of the hardship, you are "standing in the gap." Wow! How exciting is that?! Be faithful to cover that gap He has entrusted you with. We may not know the difference we are making until we get to heaven, but oh boy, will it be worth it!! Who will have the chance to hear the gospel because you were there to stand in the gap; who will be discipled only because you were there, willing to handle the tough times? Joshua 1:9- "Be strong and courageous!"