STANDING
STANDING
By Jeannette Haley
“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing:
I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” – Psalm 69:1, 2
No doubt many of us who survived this past year can relate to the above verse, and have cried out to God to save us as the waters of uncertainty, fear and change have impacted our souls. As for mire, if you’ve ever stepped into a miry mix of clay, water and sand you know how fast you sink and how hard it is to extricate yourself. It reminds me of a time, many years ago, when I went clam digging at low tide and found myself stuck in mire so thick it held my boot fast, causing me to step right out of it. Since I couldn’t put my stockinged foot into the muck, I had to try and work my foot back into the boot, so there I stood like the proverbial “stick in the mud.” Thankfully, friends wearing hip-waders saw my predicament and came to my rescue. Believe me, I learned to be more watchful for miry sand that has the appearance of solid ground.
The second part of verse 2 illustrates the helplessness of finding yourself in deep water where it’s impossible to stand due to an onslaught of high waves. This fearful situation reminds me of how it felt all through 2020 with the “mire” of confusion, wickedness, and insane lawlessness along with wave after wave of confusing, conflicting, and devastating “news.” All of this was accompanied by endless waves of panic-producing misinformation about an “invisible enemy” from China that caused such stifling fear that it ruthlessly caused most of the world’s population to find themselves suddenly on the “bottom” with the power-hungry “elites” manifesting their “true colors” of senseless, cruel and insane totalitarian rule on the “top.” Instantly, all of us were confronted with some major decisions we had to make as to whether we would comply or resist reckless, lawless, unconstitutional “orders” that were confusing, conflicting and controlling.
Many Christians turned to God in prayer, and to the Bible for answers, because in order to be able to stand both spiritually and physically in this world, we must be prepared to first stand spiritually; and, that begins at the cross of Christ which will forever remain “standing” when all else has fallen.
It seems appropriate to say that the “mire, where there is no standing” can be compared to false information, lies and just plain propaganda. Back in the 80’s, when in prayer, the LORD showed me in a ball of twine that represented the whole world wrapped in lies. What a fitting description of Satan’s work, and especially in these latter days where the entire world, except for a remnant, have fallen hook, line, and sinker for lies so well devised by Satan’s workers that, if it were possible (as the Bible says) even the very elect should be deceived. (See Matthew 24:24.)
How is it that the world can be so easily deceived? I’ve thought a lot about that as truthful facts exposing the falsehoods and propaganda of the media, eugenicist globalists, power hungry tech giants, and controlling world planners has come to light through various streams of honest reporters. For those who know biblical prophecies, those with common sense, and those who are still able to critically think in spite of the floods of misinformation that threatens to drown the whole world in unspeakable evil, it’s easy to see the “big picture” taking shape. Above all else, God’s Word still stands, and will continue to stand for all eternity, and He makes it clear what the consequences are for all those who do not love the truth. I realize I quote it often, but it is soimportant for us in times such as these to remember 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 which says, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The time has come when the kingdom of darkness has risen up for all to see it for what it is, and how it operates in its fierce global war against the kingdom of light.
How terrifying it will be for those who refuse to receive the love of the truth unto salvation when they are sent a “strong delusion” from God Almighty that causes them to believe a lie unto damnation! The time is at hand, and you can almost hear their cries of despair as they sink into the mire of their own delusion, unbelief, and unrighteousness. It will be too late for them to repent of their lust for the mire and muck of this world that presented itself as “safe, solid ground.” All of their ungodly, well-laid plans, compromises, secret dealings, and wealth cannot save them, neither can their fake news, fake speeches, and fake gods deliver them. James 5:1-6 is a fitting description of the powerful, wicked, globalist corruption that has always despised God Almighty, His people, and all that is upright, pure, good and wise. James warns such evildoers,“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”
How wonderful are the words of our Lord and Savior who said, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock” Matthew 7:24, 25. The question is, what are you building on today? I watch so many “good” people (by the world’s standards) and beautiful people, and well-meaning people building their lives on what may appear to be solid rock, but it is sinking sand. When a person’s emphasis is on pursuing a life filled with endless worldly pleasures, even if such pleasures are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, they can become the heart’s ultimate goal instead of the pursuit of God and holiness. Pleasure, like candy, should be enjoyed in small doses lest it become addictive, taking mastery over one’s senses, emotions, and better judgment.
If we go back to the Old Testament and search for examples of great men and women of God who remained standing in spite of insurmountable opposition, we discover people of great faith, people who remained standing because they knew God, feared Him, loved Him, and were obedient to Him. Priceless gems of truth and wisdom that bring encouragement to our hearts and minds can be discovered by reading of their exploits, witness, and examples. One thing we have to face, as did they, and whether we want to or not, is the fact that today we are in a war that is not only against us physically, but also against us emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Therefore, in order to be able to stand and remain standing, we must first be well established on the Rock of our salvation. This means we need to possess clarity of mind and heart concerning what we believe, what we are fighting for (and against), and what price we are willing to pay. Sadly, I watch many people I deeply care for, who profess to be Christians, blindly building their “houses” on “sinking sand.” Only God knows how many more days, months or years we have on this earth before the storm comes and “beats upon our house.” One thing we can be assured of is this: The storms of life will come!
As Christians, we know that our enemy is Satan, and that his goal is “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” John 10:10a. Therefore, just as God empowers His people to carry out his will in this world through faith and obedience, so too Satan uses his people to carry out his evil works. At this point in history, it is obvious that Satan’s master plan for globalism, headed up by a one-world leader known as the anti-Christ, is in full swing. The question each of us must ask ourselves is, am I truly prepared to stand? Can I honestly say with the Apostle Paul, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24)? What Paul was referring to when he said “none of these things move me,” is “bonds and afflictions.” After all, it was Paul who wrote to the persecuted Christians at Rome, “I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” Romans 12:1, 2.
The year of 2020 has been a wakeup call to the sleepy church and to complacent Americans. For far too long we have taken our freedoms for granted; however, those who have been paying attention know that, little by little, we lost our right to freedom of speech, beginning with kicking God out of public schools (and other places). Then, suddenly, we lost our freedom to assemble, our freedom to gather together to worship the Lord, our freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and the right to be responsible for our own health. Are these the beginning of the days Jesus’ forewarned us of when He said, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” Luke 21:26? As for fainting, Hebrews 12:3 tells us, “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” If you’ve ever fainted (which I have in the past) you know how faintness develops in your head, causing you to “pass out.” Ephesians 6:10-13 tells us who and what we are up against, and how to stand in this “evil day.” It states, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Going back to the Old Testament for examples that replicate the time we are living in, we read in Exodus of the evils that had befallen God’s people who lived under a wicked Pharaoh in Egypt. Now, we know that Satan is the “god of this world” who hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that Pharaoh’s goal, much like the wealthy politicians and globalists of our day, was to keep control of the Israelite population so they would be forced to remain in slavery for his benefit and purposes. In Exodus 1:8-14 we read of Pharaoh’s fear that the Israelites would join Egypt’s enemies if there was a war, and thus escape out of Egypt. The solution? Reduce the population by ordering the Egyptian midwives to kill all of the male babies born to Israelite women. When that failed, he decreed that all of his people were to cast the Israelites’ baby sons into the river. Governors Cuomo and Northam (among others) would’ve been proud of this Pharaoh, but what they would fail to consider is the signature judgment that befell Pharaoh and his army: meaning, the Jewish babies drowned in the Nile River, but Pharaoh and his men were drowned in the Red sea by God.
So, here we are, thousands of years later, and we still have our share of “little Pharaohs” spread throughout the land who are proud of their anti-life stand. But, just as the fierce wrath of God came upon Egypt, and great deliverance for His people, so too in these latter days we know that Jesus is coming to destroy all of His enemies, along with all of their wicked works, and set up His everlasting kingdom.
Concerning Moses. In spite of the wicked laws and edicts of Egypt’s ruler, Moses’ mother, Jochebed, bravely disobeyed, and through her faith and wisdom saved the life of her child. We all thrill to that timeless story, and then eighty years later we find Moses standing, barefoot at God’s command on holy ground before Him. Why? Because God had heard the groanings of the children of Israel, and He had prepared a man “on the backside of the desert” to deliver them. As for us, haven’t God’s people in America, which nation was founded with the help of God to give freedom to His people, likewise been crying out to Him in anguish because of the oppressive and unjust, unconstitutional laws, mandates, ridiculous edicts and penalties levied against us? Furthermore, who has God prepared and raised up among us to unite true patriots while exposing the evil “covering” over America (and the world)? Who, along with a handful of upright people, has been fighting to save the Republic in spite of vile and slanderous, never-ending attacks? I think you know the answer to that.
What made the ground holy upon which Moses stood was the very presence of the holy God. This is the place of power for any believer who has consecrated his or her life to Him. If we are to indeed stand “in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10) and “do valiantly” (Psalm 108:12,13) in these end days, we must first be established in true humility of heart and mind with only one goal, and that is for God to be glorified. Thus, the first step in preparation for the battle is to be established in the holiness of God which comes by trusting and obeying Him daily. Sometimes great men and great leaders like Moses, who was out in the wilderness, are content with their lives and where they are when God calls them aside to Himself and reveals His plans for them. The reason Moses could stand before Pharaoh like he did is because he had stood on holy ground, and he knew his God. Nevertheless, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, just like the insane power-hungry politicians of our day who have plotted for years to strip us of our Constitutional freedoms and make us slaves to big government, globalism, and communism. But we have also seen that God’s people, those who have stood in the holy place with Him, and who know Him, are standing up against the flood of evil that is overflowing the land.
Those of us who love our country and our Constitution grieve the erosion of our freedoms due to the fraudulent and corrupt people in positions of power who have sold America for their own personal benefit. While We the People are vexed by the overwhelming lawlessness, lack of justice, and encroaching evil on every level, should we not also reflect on what brought us to this dangerous and deplorable state? Perhaps we should look no further than Christ’s message to the churches in Revelation 2, 3. A careful reading and study of these churches will prick your heart and send shivers up your spine as the truth of where we are, why we’re where we are, and where we’re going if we fail to REPENT! (And, overcome.) Those who are without God and who live in unrighteousness are like the Egyptians who sat in thick darkness during the ninth plague. But, not so for God’s people. Exodus 10:23 tells us, “They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
Unlike us, God never operates in the “gray” area of compromise, and He always makes a clear distinction between light and darkness, good and evil, the saved and unsaved. “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1 John 1:5-7. But, how many in the organized churches of today, from pulpit to pew, are “walking in darkness” because of love for the world? The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” Ephsians 5:8. And to the church at Thessalonica he warned of the last days, writing “BUT of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5. John wrote of Jesus, saying, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” John 1:4, 5. Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” Matthew 5:14.
Thus, in Egypt, after God sent the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, He told Moses where to lead the people, and told him that Pharaoh would follow after them. Then He would be honoured and the Egyptians would know “I am the LORD.” (Exodus 14:4.) God’s will in all the terrible plagues and mighty wonders He did in Egypt was two-fold: that His people would know and believe that He had heard their cries and had sent His prophet to deliver them out of Egypt, and that the Egyptians would know that the Great I AM is the LORD. Everything that God does for our good is also for His glory!
Meanwhile, even before the children of Israel experienced the mighty miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, they began to complain and blame Moses for “taking them out of Egypt and into the wilderness to die.” How quickly they forgot God’s mighty works! And, how quickly they forgot the horrible bondage they had suffered as slaves! “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” Exodus 14:13, 14. Then, after the children of Israel stood still, in the very next verse we read, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward” vs. 15. How about us? If we are to go forward in 2021, first we must stand still, and then as the Spirit leads, go forward. The question is, are we any different than they were when we whine and complain because things in America (and the world) will never go back to the way they were? When we stop and ask ourselves just what has been “lost,” and then pray, asking God for His perspective on this situation, we gain a whole different perception which should bring us down on our faces in intense mourning and repentance.
While it’s true that there has been much personal loss, suffering and sorrow on many fronts, if things continued on as they were before the “planned-demic” and insane, tyrannical lockdowns, how many people would’ve ever become aware of the depth of evil that has been plotting and planning for decades (centuries, actually) to rule the world? How many have blithely accepted one encroachment after the other on their personal freedoms, and grudgingly given in to the oppressive “status quo?” Sadly, much of the blame for this tragic state of affairs lies squarely on the Church because of its refusal to “stand,” and remain “standing” against ungodliness in every area—and, yes, that means in politics as well!
In spite of the mighty deliverance of the children of Israel in the midst of the Red Sea, and in spite of the fact that God provided them with manna, they still hit points of discontent, ingratitude, complaining, and anger which all originated from fear and lack of faith. In Numbers 11:5 we read, “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick.” Here in America, we face the bleak fact that millions of eating and drinking establishments have gone out of business for good. None of us are happy about it, especially since all of this loss and devastation could have been avoided, but the point is, are we thankful to God for “our daily bread” (food) or are we “fainting” in our minds instead of standing on the Rock that never fails? Just as God was trying to get “Egypt” (the world) out of the children of Israel now that he had delivered them out of Egypt, so, too, He is trying to get the world out of His Church before His Church will be prepared for deliverance out of this world.
Where are the people of conviction, people who know what they believe and believe what they know? Without conviction, there can be no “standing.” A person cannot stand upon the outside until they are first standing up on the inside. We cannot worry about what other people think of us. We must not compromise truth and bend to their personal opinions, nor can we be concerned with the consequences of taking the stand God calls us to take, even though it will cost. Make no mistake, courage and sacrifice go together, there is a price to pay. But if we are to go on following the LORD, there is no turning back—back to the old ways, back to our old habits, back to our old pleasures and way of life. As soldiers of the cross, we must deny self, pick up our cross, and follow Him. After all, Jesus told us, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment” Matthew 6:24, 25.
O Christian! In times like these are you standing on the promises of God our Savior?