Standing before God……

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”  Gen. 17:1  NIV

“Lord, teach me the full meaning of my standing before you.”   I have glorified in my standing in Jesus----justified and accepted in the blood of Jesus.  This has been a truth that I have hidden in my heart.  But, Lord, You have been talking to me about another type of standing-----standing in my own name.

Our standing in Jesus means that our sins are forgiven and this is without any work or self-effort on our part.  But we are also obliged to stand before God in responsibility, in immediacy, and in accountability. 

Elijah said the Lord was the One “before whom I stand” (I Kings 17:1).  These words chill me, Lord.   They warn me that standing in Christ is not the same as standing before You as a servant.   Jesus’ standing settles the problem of my sin; my standing deals with the matter of discipleship.  I cannot possibly excuse myself from the second standing if I claim the first.

How must I stand before You?   Blameless!   You said to Abraham, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Gen. 17:1).  This is Your ideal for me, Lord.   You desire my standing before You to be unblameworthy, that is, characterized only by pure motives.

My standing is acceptable to You only if I have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4).

I see what this means to me, Lord.   You will NOT tolerate Your children resting in the finished work of Christ in such a way that their lives become lazy, sloppy and disgraceful.  No….. You call us to accountability for the way we live our lives, for the way we use our time, talents, and energy.

We are to face the enemy not fresh from a “nap” but fresh from the glistening presence of God. 

Thank You, Lord, that You encourage us in this: “Then I will restore you, and you shall stand before Me” (Jer. 15:19).  The standing is essential and so is the restoring of God, which makes it possible.

“Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.”  II Tim. 2:4 NLT