Standing for God

Our world has become so saturated with secularism that the average Christian’s faith has become weak, diluted, and complacent. A simple hitch in their journey forces many Christians to take a wrong turn. Many God’s children find it difficult to follow the principles in God’s Word during challenging times. Going with or joining the crowd/majority has become the norm or guiding principle for the average child of God. While no Christian can be said to be perfect, there is indeed ample opportunity for Christians to improve our efforts in this particular topic. The integrity of truth cannot be diluted or exchanged for the evil alternatives that God clearly stands against. Those alternatives are largely why our world is in its current unstable and uncertain condition. The word “truth” is often associated with God and is the very essence and epitome of life itself. According to Webster’s dictionary, it is the property of being in accord with the fact or reality, and is typically associated with things like beliefs, propositions, and declarative sentences. It acts as a basis for determining the difference between black and white, what happened from what did not happen, and the various standards of judgment in society. In Christianity, truth is associated with the Judeo-Christian belief and is the basis for calling out evil from good, unfairness from fairness, injustice from justice, and unrighteousness from righteousness. It played a major role in the formulation of the Ten Commandments and the constitutions of most civilized nations of the world. Whenever truth is thwarted in any civilized society, it is almost always opposed with an outcry. If people don’t take a stand for truth, bad things usually happen. The results of not taking a stand can come in the ways of sufferings, losses, and even death. A teacher who winks at the sight of her students copying answers from other students is not doing those students any good service. A witness who decides to avoid taking a stand for truth could easily send the wrong person to jail or even death while the guilty person goes free to commit more crimes. The odds against God, righteousness, and truth are numerous these days, but those who elect to stick with truth are said to be the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10-12). If the truth is lost, what shall the righteous do? When Jesus said that blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10), He was talking about those who take a stand when truth is disregarded, diluted, distorted, or blatantly overridden as has been done in this world throughout the past and present generations. Even when there are clear moral compasses, people have always found a way to override the truth. Truth is so basic that even little children understand it. Most two- and three-year olds understand who their parents are and know that touching a burning charcoal will hurt. While truth is very innate in human nature, it is also taught and learned in the course of human development. Learning the truth is the bulk of the education that just about all educated people undergo in life. Regardless of religious and political beliefs, just about every culture teaches its people to stay away from evil and to acknowledge the truth. The act of righteousness is accomplished when human behavior is modeled to follow the principles of truth. Truth always aligns with righteous behavior. When people’s behavior tends to align with distorted or half-truths, the results are different from righteousness. Just as righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne (Psalm 89:14), humans are expected to align their righteousness with their truth. In fact, the basis of righteousness is the inherent truth that righteous behavior is built on. Truth is the foundation of everything. By truth, God has founded the earth. Any violation of that order cannot produce a good result for mankind. The title of this book (Standing for God) emerged from the need that God is constantly looking for people whom He will use to accomplish His righteous will at very important times in our lives. When prophet Isaiah was called into the ministry, he heard the Lord asking this same question: Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:8). King Uzziah had just died after a 52-year reign in Judah. Although he was described as someone who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, the scriptures noted that the high places of idol worship in the land were not removed and that the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there (2 Kings 15:3-4). These practices were grievous evil in God’s eye. The main reason God wanted the prophet to stand in the gap was to avoid the calamities described in verses 11-13: ruined cities without inhabitants, deserted houses, ruined and ravaged fields, far away exile, and forsaken wasteland. Standing for God has many benefits. The best way to understand the benefits of standing for God is by associating them to the individuals who underwent the experiences to see how they reaped the benefits. One common thing about God's benefits is that there is simply not just one type of benefit, but they come as a bundle of overwhelming multiple blessings, which are often beyond man’s imaginations or expectations. This is how God perfects His immeasurable blessings for His children. The word “dew” has been used to describe God’s benefits. When Isaac blessed his son Jacob, he said: “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness” (Genesis 27:28). Although dew comes from the clouds to give us grains and wine, it is figuratively used here to represent the general multitudes of blessings from God, including materials riches, health, long life, status, wisdom, talents, skills, peace, and general everyday successes. The absence of dew is regarded as a curse (2 Samuel 1:21). This makes it clear that God wants to give His faithful children the dew of the heaven.