Titbits for the Soul # 9 - Can we Stand in the Gap?

-




Can We Stand in the Gap? 

For the Audio Version, click here: Can we Stand in the Gap? 

Ezekiel 22:30 - “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.” (NLT) 

In Ezekiel Chapter 22, the Lord listed out all the sins of the people, priests and prophets in that city. As God searched intently to see if He could find someone who could stand in the gap and rebuild the ruined city, He found none. The consequence was that God was certain to pour out His wrath on them and consume them with His fierce anger. 

However, in other places in the bible we read about men and women of God who stood in the gap to plead for those whom the Lord was about to destroy. 

Abraham 
In Genesis Chapter 18, when God informed Abraham that He was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their unbearable wickedness, Abraham stood before God to plead for the people in those cities. Abraham negotiated with God, until God agreed to his plea and spared Lot and his family. 

Moses 
Despite the fact that God delivered the people of Israel from the bondage of Egypt with His mighty hand, they rebelled against Him and they worshipped the golden calf that they had made. Exodus 32 portrays the fierce anger of God that purposed to consume the Israelites. When God revealed this to Moses, he begged God to have mercy on them, and the Lord graciously relented from destroying the people that day. (Exodus 32:14) 

Esther 
In the book of Esther Chapter 4, we read of Haman plotting to kill all the Jews. When Mordecai was informed of this evil scheme, he sent word to Queen Esther to appeal to the King on behalf of the Jews. Though Esther initially hesitated, she realized that God had placed her in a key position for such a time as that. Esther called the Jewish people to fast with her for three days, and then she went to stand before the King, with whom she found favour. It was only when Esther came to the point of complete surrender, willing to even lay down her life, did the Lord intervene, and saved the lives of the Jewish people in a miraculous way. 

Daniel 
Daniel Chapter 9 describes in detail, the prayer of Daniel as he interceded with God on behalf of those who were in exile. He confessed to God the sins of rebellion, wickedness, disobedience to God’s precepts and rejection of the prophets of God. Daniel pleaded with God to have mercy, and the angel of the Lord appeared to endow Daniel with skill to understand what lay ahead for the people of Israel. 

Paul 
In Romans Chapter 9, Paul was so filled with sorrow and anguish for the people of Israel who were unwilling to accept the message of the Gospel. Read Paul’s prayer in Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,…” (NKJV) 

All these men and women were ordinary people just like you and me. They made a difference and willingly and ardently interceded for others because of the love and compassion that gripped their hearts for those who were perishing. 

Jesus our greatest and only intercessor 
Our greatest intercessor is the Lord Jesus, who willingly submitted Himself to the will of the Father and laid down His own life on behalf of the sins of all mankind. Therefore this is what Jesus did for us as Paul writes in Romans 8:34, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (ESV) 

That’s the call of God to each one of us in this crucial hour of crisis. May we be those who will stand in the gap, approach the throne of grace and earnestly seek the Lord Jesus for His mercy, grace and deliverance for both us, and for the whole of humanity. 

Click here for the other devotions - Titbits for the Soul


The Life Transforming WORD - By Esther Collins

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Titbits for the Soul # 7 - The Coats that Changed His Course

-
Image
The Coats that Changed His Course Click here for the Audio Version -  The Coats that Changed His Course Read Genesis Chapters 37 to 41 for the entire account "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors." Genesis 37:3 (NKJV) The first coat that Joseph received was the coat of Favor that his father Jacob gifted him. This was an exotic multi-colored coat that expressed Jacob’s boundless love for Joseph, who was the son born in his old age. However, this coat became the cause for envy among his elder brothers, who not only hated him, but also sold him into slavery. They used the same coat to deceive their father, and made him believe that Joseph had been mauled by a wild animal. When Joseph reached Egypt, he ended up as a slave in the house of Potiphar, who was Pharaoh’s official. Joseph was not alone, for God was with Joseph, and made him a successful man. Potiphar was so pleased with Jos...
Read more

Titbits for the Soul # 4 - In the Midst of Lions

-
Image
In the Midst of Lions Click here for the Audio-Visual Version - In the Midst of Lions “I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts-- men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” Psalm 57:4 (NIV) These are the words of David, as he fled to hide in a cave from King Saul’s jealous anger. David had struck and killed a lion that carried off a lamb from his flock, therefore, no one could have understood an encounter with a lion better than David. All of a sudden this brave warrior was in such great anguish that he felt his soul was in the midst of lions and fiery beasts. Saul and his men were for pursuing David in order to kill him for nothing wrong that he had done. Daniel found himself in a similar situation in Daniel Chapter 6 . Daniel distinguished himself with his exceptional qualities and matchless integrity, that those who worked with him plotted his downfall. As Daniel persevered in prayer, the evil schemes of men ...
Read more

Titbits for the Soul # 5 - When Hand-Washing is not Enough

-
Image
When Hand-Washing is not Enough Click here for the Audio-Visual Version -  When Hand-Washing is not Enough Psalm 24:3-4, “ Who shall ascend the hill of the  Lord ? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart ….” (ESV) This is a season when there is a major emphasis on hand-washing and hand sanitizing like never before.   This precaution is basically to safeguard us from the attack of an unseen virus.   The majority of people, old and young alike, have taken this quite seriously, as we are well aw are that our non-compliance to this precautionary measure would be detrimental to our health. Interestingly, there was this tradition of hand-washing that was upheld meticulously by the Jewish people in the days of Jesus.   This is mentioned in Mark 7:3-4, “ For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, ...
Read more