Where Are You Standing?

We live in a frantic, fast paced culture that lives by the mantra, “If you are not moving forward, then you’ll get left behind.”  In the social media world there is even an acronym for it— FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).  The problem we face as followers of Jesus is that we must not allow the voices of the world to drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit.  The voices of the world rise sometimes to a high-pitched screeching level, but the Holy Spirit will never raise His voice.  That is why we must tune out of the world’s chaos and listen carefully to His voice.  He speaks in His word as well so we must read it, memorize it, incorporate it deeply into our life until it is our very sustenance. As Christians we are often commanded to act.  We were given the great commission and were commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel and again when we are urged to take up the armor of God and wield the weapons of the spirit to do battle against the forces of the devil.  There are times for decisive action and movement to advance God’s kingdom.  But there are many times when scripture tells us to cease our movement and to stand, be steadfast and immovable. As independent Americans, we don’t like being told what to do, especially when we are told to stand, wait, be silent or still.  We are not hard of hearing as much as we are hard of listening and obeying. If we choose to ignore the message thinking we must “do something”, this negates the work God wanted to do for us, in us and through us. And in my own experience, I usually muck things up pretty badly when left to my own devices. I need to listen more closely. Standing in God’s will is not some weak, lazy or passive position. It is just the opposite and the most powerful stance one can take.  Once you stand still, you are now in a position to witness the dynamic, amazing hand of God working on your behalf.  And as Ben pointed out in his recent message, God’s work is always superior to ours, overflowing with an abundance that is more than we can ask or even imagine.  It is God’s delight to work on behalf of His children. I may adopt my own acronym.  FOMGV (Fear of Missing God’s Voice). It doesn’t glide smoothly off the tongue, but I want to be more concerned that I will miss God’s instruction than whether I am keeping up with the world. I want to go when He says go and stand when he says stand.  I’m not there yet but through His grace, I can become a better listener. Who knows what God will do when we, as individuals and collectively as His church learn to listen and stand when He says stand?  Let’s get in lockstep with what He is doing to advance His kingdom. That’s something I do not want to miss!