Gap Standing - Martin Wiles

I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 NLT

As a child, I had walked across the great chasm while holding my grandfather’s hand.

The Mile High Swinging Bridge at Grandfather’s Mountain spans an eighty-foot gap and swings one mile above sea level. The name swinging refers to the fact that the bridge does just that. 

At the moment, I didn’t care who built it, when, or why. Only steel cables driven into the mountainside captured my attention.

I wasn’t a child anymore either. I’m sure I walked across like a “big boy” when I held my grandfather’s hand, but now I was a big boy and not sure I wanted to cross. My wife and daughter had already made their way across. I started across with my son, but as soon as I felt the first sway, I turned tail and headed back. I wasn’t interested in standing—or in this case, walking—in the gap.  

In the prophet Ezekiel’s day, God couldn’t find anyone to stand in the gap. Corrupt political and religious leaders ruled the day, and the people followed suit. God needed someone to stand in the chasm separating His will from the world’s philosophy, but no one was interested.

Gap standing isn’t for cowards. Standing up for what’s right often frightens me just as much as walking across the Mile High Bridge. Standing alone—or standing with just a few—frightens most people, me included. Doing what everyone else is doing—whether it’s right or not—is much easier than standing in the gap and saying, “No.”

But I can gap stand when I trust God. As an adult facing the swinging bridge, I lacked trust. Sure, hundreds of people had crossed the bridge, and the bridge had never collapsed. But I wasn’t convinced. Those steel cables could dislodge. Trusting God to help me stand in the gulf for what’s right is the only way I’ll ever stand there.

Strong commitment is also parcel to gap standing. I wasn’t committed to crossing the gap. I had done it as a child—and that was enough. Turning my back on God’s plan seems easier than following it, but in the end, it never is. My commitment and God’s power are enough to plant my feet in the crevasse.

Don’t fear gap standing. Wherever God tells you to stand, He’ll give you the strength to stand.

Tweetable: Are you standing where God wants you to?

Prayer: Father, give us courage and determination to stand in the gap for You. 

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