When Standing is Hard

Standing.

It seems passive, doesn’t it? It literally sounds easier than a walk in the park. It shouldn’t take much energy or effort, right?

But is it? Is it easy?

In Ephesians 6, Paul exhorts those who believe in the Christ to stand. He says this after he has spent the beginning of his letter explaining how they are to live and to treat each other in a variety of relationships. Then he says in verse 10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (NKJV). Paul wants believers to stand. He uses the word histemi which means, as you would assume, to cause or make to stand, to cause a person/thing to keep its place. His first sentence in that verse tells us that standing requires strength and power from Almighty God. Paul uses an analogy of armor, as if we’re going to battle.

Paul goes on to explain why we need to put on this armor and stand in it. He says beginning in verse 12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” My friend, we have a real enemy who does not want us to stand. If we did not, we wouldn’t need armor. Every believer in Christ down through the ages has wrestled against things this world cannot see. In this unseen battle, Paul says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Here he tells us to put on the armor of God so that we can 1) “withstand in the evil day.” This word “withstand” conveys the idea of resisting or opposing. We are to stand in opposition to evil. And 2) we are to maintain our upright position of standing (histemi) once we have put on the armor. 

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Notice, he hasn’t told us to fight. He has only bid us stand and to do so clothed in truth, righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God, all while praying and being watchful to the end in perseverance.

Not only do we have the devil warring against us, but we have our own sinful nature, often referred to as “the flesh,” that tempts us as we stand. James 1:13-15 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

After reading this, would you say standing is easy?  

No. But while we have real opposition, we also have a real Advocate in Christ who has provided everything we need to stand.

“His (God’s) divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Additionally, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Not only are we provided a way of escape by a faithful God in each instance, but Christ our “High Priest” who intercedes for us knows the struggle of temptation to the greatest degree. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” He knows our weaknesses and has been victorious over them.

In the same vein of thought, C.S. Lewis writes:

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation now how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after 5 minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness – they have lived a sheltered life by giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means – the only complete realist.”

Have you felt opposition from the enemy or temptation so strongly that you felt it nearly impossible to stand? You are in good company.

I desperately need Him to help me stand. I know all too keenly the pull of temptation and the struggle Paul mentions in Romans 7:19 when he says, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” It’s not your sin I hate most, it’s mine.

The struggle is real, but so is the power of God.

We often wrongly think the battle is between God and the devil or our own flesh, as if Satan and God are on the same “playing field.” But there is no one like our God (Isaiah 46:9). It is not God vs. Satan. It is God vs. Nothing. When Satan seems to have knocked us down, God is more than able and willing to help us stand. When we feel as if we’re suffocating in sin, temptations seem too great, and bad habits too ingrained, we must remember there is always a way out, and we must take it. There is always hope. There is always freedom. Because there is always God, and He has no equal. No one who stands against His power wins, so stand with Him. 

Stand.

Stand firm.

Keep standing.

There’s another word used in the NT that is often translated as “stand” in English. It’s the word steko. It differs slightly from histemi because it conveys the idea of persevering or standing fast or firm. I’ve listed the instances in the New Testament in which the word “steko” is used:

·         1 Corinthians 16:13 – “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” (Paul is giving his final remarks to the Corinthians in these verses.)

·         Galatians 5:1 – “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

·         Philippians 1:27 – “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”

·         Philippians 4:1 – “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.” (In the previous chapter, Paul is talking about being citizens of heaven. He is saying, in effect, since you are citizens of heaven, stand fast in the Lord.)

·         1 Thessalonians 3:8 also mentions to “stand fast in the Lord.”

·         2 Thessalonians 2:15 – “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” (Paul is talking to those called by the gospel)

·         Mark 11:25 – “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

·         Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”

If we do not struggle with certain sins, and others do, let us not think that they should be able to be stronger than they are. Remember that God is their master. Cushioned in that warning in Romans 14:4 is a beautiful truth; God, the master, is able to make His servant stand (“steko”) in perseverance. Praise God!

Standing, although it sounds passive, could very well be progress in your spiritual life. 

Have you already chosen to believe in the God of the Bible and align your life with His? Stand.

You who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ -  stand.

Let’s stand together. 

God is with us. 

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.”

(Jude 1:24-25)