Standing in the gap

Ez.22:30, “ So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. “

God used His prophets time to time to rebuke, warn and to restore Israelites. Israelites kept grieving the Lord again and again by practicing idolatry. They continued to be disobedient. Even while His wrath burnt hot against his people, His merciful heart kept seeking for one man who would stand in the gap before him on behalf of the land. For after all they were His people. Though our Lord is holy and just, He does not want any soul to perish. Today too, as end days are fast passing by, and as we see the birth pangs of same more and more severe, and as we are seeing nations, families, societies being destroyed, He continues to seek for lives who would stand in gap, who would plead for mercy. Those who stand in the gap represents people before God and represents God before people. Such lives need to crucify their ‘self’ in order to represent both God and man before each other.

The phrase ‘but I found none’ is indeed a heart breaking phrase. It’s so terrible that God is unable to find a faithful intercessor. We need to understand the reasons which challenges this calling. We need to know why many who are called to stand in gap are failing to do so. Let us ponder on few lives from the scriptures who faced different challenges and overcame to stand faithfully before God.

Abraham was called a friend of God. Lot, his nephew set out his journey with him. Soon, as their wealth increased and their servants quarreled regarding same, they decided to part. Abraham gave Lot the 1^st choice to select his portion. The self-centered Lot chose the best and left. The Lord then spoke to Abraham and promised to give him all that his eyes could behold. In Gen.18:17-33, we see how the Lord shared His heart with Abraham about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, and how Abraham stood there interceding for Lot, who dwelt there. Had we been in his place, we might have thought this as God’s reward for his self-centeredness and might even be happy secretly about the same. But Abraham stood in the gap with a sincere heart, so much so that God remembered him while destroying these cities and allowed Lot and his family to be rescued. Gen.19:29, “⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.’ Unforgiveness is a great stone that stands between God and us, which stops us from responding to the call of standing in gap for lives who might have hurt us. Christ prayed for forgiveness on the cross for those who crucified Him, and could hence, stand in gap between God and mankind. May our hearts be filled with His unconditional love for all around us so that we can faithfully stand in the gap.

Esther was an orphan, who later on was appointed as queen of a heathen king, named King Ahasuerus. When the lives of Jews were threatened by the letter initiated by Haman and signed by the king, Mordecai asked Esther to go and talk to the king on their behalf. But Esther feared the law of the king which put to death any person who would go into the inner court without prior permission. She told Mordecai of same, expressing her helplessness. Esther 4:14, ‘For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Mordecai’s words instilled fear of God in the queen’s heart and she overcame the fear of man to stand in the gap for her people. Fear of anything more than the fear of the Lord is a snare. Fear of the powers of darkness has challenged many intercessors to be faithful. Let us realize that there is none greater than our Lord, who created the whole universe with His Word. And when our Lord is for us, who can stand against us, for His blood which has made us righteous in His sight is faithful to protect and preserve us till we see His glorious face.

Nehemiah was a captive along with many other Israelites. He was placed in the palace of Shushan as the cupbearer of the king. In simple words, he was living a comfortable life with good salary and perks. But yet he was different. He had the heart to enquire about the well being of Jews who were left behind in Jerusalem. And when he heard about their afflictions and the broken walls of Jerusalem, he sat down and wept, mourned and prayed (Neh.1:4). He submitted himself to the extent to be willing to leave his comfort zone and step into Jerusalem to build up the broken walls. He prayed and sought permission from the king. Nehemiah sacrificed his comforts to rise up to stand in the gap and do the needful for the protection and restoration of God’s people. The comforts of life cling to our flesh in such a way that often these makes many go astray form their calling. These are the thorns which cuts off the sharpness of our spiritual discernment. Lk.8:14 presents the pleasures of life as thorns that chokes the fruitfulness of the seed sown. Let us have the mind and heart of Christ to consider the toughness of standing in gap more blessed than the comfort zone so that His will is done in this earth through us, and we stand justified through our faith expressed through our actions.

Isaiah was a prophet who prophesied about Christ in the closest way. He prophesied about redemption and restoration of Judah. In the 6^th chapter of this prophetical book, he saw a vision of the Lord sitting on the throne which brought a sharp turning point in his ministry. It opened his own eyes to see his own impurity. The moment he confessed the same, he was purified (Is.6:5-7). One of the seraphims touched his lips with the live coal. Is.6:8, ‘Soon the prophet heard God’s voice. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”  Isaiah was indeed serving God, but the purification enabled him to hear God’s voice and to respond. Often we assume that we are serving God in the best ways, but the hidden sins make our ears deaf to His voice unknowingly. Hence we often serve Him in a way pleasing to our hearts more than His heart.  Isaiah offered himself to be God’s messenger in a way that pleased Him. He became the mouthpiece of God and warned His people of the divine judgements. Standing in the gap before Him requires us to be sensitive to His still small voice. We always need to seek Him to know His heart’s desire, to listen and to do accordingly. For this, time to time growing in holiness is of utmost importance.

When God called Moses to lead the oppressed Israelites out of Egypt, he presented his failures and incapabilites to escape the call. But the Lord literally pursued him till he was convinced and convicted. Ex.4:10-12, ‘ ¹⁰ Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and ^[b]slow of tongue.” ¹¹ So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” As always said, He does not call the qualified. Instead He qualifies the called ones, provided they make themselves available. Let us stop focusing on our inabilities and focus on His abilities instilled in us through His presence. For without Him, we cannot do anything.  Moses stopped focusing on his own inabilities and hence could stand in gap for His people. He became the voice of God for Israelites and he pleaded for them to rescue them from His wrath time and again.

These are the end days. God does not desire to see a single life perish. We need to stand in gap with an attitude of urgency and of utmost priority. Let us get rid of all that is a hindrance to this great calling. May our Lord see faithful lives standing in gap, bringing glory to His name.

God bless us all.

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