I remember singing that old (as in 1993!) country song by Aaron Tippin.
He’d say you’ve got to stand for somethin’ or you’ll fall for anything
You’ve got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string
Never compromise what’s right and uphold your family name
You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything
Back when I was a little girl, I didn’t really give much thought to those lyrics. But now, “standing” for “something” has a totally different meaning for me.
And by standing for “something” I mean standing firm in Christ. In fact, STAND is my OneWord for 2013 and it’s been interesting to see how it has developed over the past 10 months.
Which brings us to today’s Hidden Ah-Ha Bible Verse from Isaiah 7:9b…
“If you don’t stand firm in your faith, you won’t stand at all.”
Oh, SNAP. That is some pretty straightforward stuff, right?
Let’s set a little bit of context here. God is talking to Isaiah because things are chaotic in Israel, everybody fighting everyone (shocker) but God is giving Isaiah a reassuring pep-talk. He’s saying that Judah’s enemies won’t prevail. He’s telling Isaiah to tell His people and his son to chill out, and stand firm.
Then it gets interesting.
Right after God makes this powerful statement telling Isaiah that if they stand firm in the faith they will be legit, He speaks to Ahaz, the current King of Judah. But Ahaz is a little overwhelmed with the whole situation. Then Isaiah steps in and prophesies the coming of a savior named Immanuel who will be born of a virgin.
Now, I am no history buff (that’s my husband’s calling) but I still think that is pretty cool.
God is calling us to stand firm in our faith on a daily basis. He reminds us that Jesus has come, has gone, but WILL COME AGAIN.
I don’t know about you, but I think that is a pretty awesome rock to stand on.
Plus, I would much rather stand firm in our certain faith than not stand at all. Not standing at all sounds kind of scary. And painful. And lonely. And unfun.
So friends, think about the areas of your life that you are standing firm in the faith. What about the areas that we seem a bit shaky in? Perhaps it’s worrying about stuff we can’t control or casting a judgmental eye at a passerby or skimping on our tithe to the Lord?
Let’s be proactive and avoid falling for the junk in this world. Just as this verse reminds us, we MUST stand firm in the faith or we won’t stand at all.
It’s time to STAND FIRM… And fall to God.
Standing on the Rock,
SGK
“If you don’t take your stand in faith, you won’t have a leg to stand on.” ~Isaiah 7:9b MSG
