Stand and Ignore

Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.   Ephesians 6:13 (NLT)

We like to think of amazing accomplishments, great acts, momentum, and being on the offensive. But there are seasons where it is enough to just come out on the other side still standing. 

“…so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.”(The Message)

When suffering leads to perseverance that chisels out character that ekes out hope; when we have stared through the difficulties to the God-faced possibilities; when our knees have wobbled and our toes curled ‘round the clods’; when the day of evil has come — "and after you have done everything, to stand." Sometimes just showing up and standing is enough. The harvesting will come on another day.

Not as a contrast, but to preserve us from hopeless hanging around, while we are standing there are things we can do. Standing naked will not suffice. There is apparel even for standing. Get dressed.

Friends visited us with their 15-month-old twins. A stranger walked in and tried to engage one of the toddlers, but he did not know her from Adam and was not about to make eye contact. He just stood and stared and pretended she was not there, even though her nose was inches from his. If he was old enough he would probably have been praying, ‘God, I am just going to stand here and ignore her till she goes away.’ We should “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests… be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Some of the “all kinds” of prayer might not be mountain mover proclamations, but alert ignoring, consciously disregarding the enemy. By all means, stand, but don’t stand and have a dialogue with the devil. Be alert, stand, and ignore.

Reflections 

• Have you been too focused on the enemy? Do you enter into chit-chat with the devil?
  
• What are the things that you want to run from, and God is telling you to stand?
  
• Are there things that you would do best to ignore, to live in deliberate denial?