Tag Archives: stand firm

October 16, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Stand Firm

Just before paul tells us to put on God’s armor, he tells us to stand firm. That idea of standing firm is given to us several times in the Bible because of how much pressure is applied to us to give up territory God has given us, to move off of standards God has set and to give into temptation. Putting on God’s armor daily helps us to stand firm. We must also be rooted and grounded in His Word in order to resist the urge and pressure to surrender ground. As we’ve seen in Scripture from Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego it can be costly to stand your ground. Like Jesus, we must think of the joy set before us to endure the pressure of the moment. Don’t give in. Keep standing firm.

Here are some Bible verses on standing firm:

1. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold [tightly] to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 AMP

2. So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 AMP

3. It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NLT

4. Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

5. Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks.

Ephesians 6:10-11 GNT

Photo by Dimitri Kolpakov on Unsplash

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October 13, 2026 · 6:05 AM

The Shoes Of The Gospel

We used to play tug of war in school pretty often. Sometimes the PE teacher would pit us against each other one on one and others group vs group. I learned early on that tug of war was as much or more about footing as it was strength. In one of my one on one battles the other kid taught me that lesson. While we were pulling against each other and there was tension in the rope, he let go for a split second. The immediate release of tension caused me to lose my footing. He then grabbed the rope and easily pulled me to his side. He had dug in with his feet and only released the rope. Without sure footing, I didn’t stand a chance of winning.

In Daniel 3, the Hebrews had been taken to Babylon in captivity. The culture of Babylon was very pagan and immediately created tension for the Israelites. One of the tug of war battles that ensued was King Nebuchadnezzar set up a gold statue and told everyone that they had to bow down to it when they heard music. Anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. There were three Hebrew men who refused to bow to any other god, but God. When they were confronted, they dug their feet in and stood their ground. The king was so angry that he increased the heat of the fire seven times hotter to put them in it. However, we he looked, they were walking around unbound with a fourth. The king called them out and made a new declaration to protect their ability worship God.

Ephesians 6:14-15 says, “So stand firm and hold your ground,… HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart), and having strapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]” (AMP). We are living in a similar tension today in how the culture around us is trying to pull us away from our beliefs, values and how God said we should live. In order to stand, we must get firm footing by knowing what God says and standing firm on it. Our enemy has been twisting it since the Garden of Eden in order to get us to lose our footing. We need to be ready and able to stand for God in a world that bows to convenience over conviction. We dig our feet in through trusting God and His Word no matter the consequences. We must be wearing the shoes of the Gospel of Peace as we walk through this world.

Image by Google Gemini

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April 4, 2023 · 5:52 AM

Don’t Run

My son once asked me, “If you had been with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, what would you have done?” I know what he was after and what he was thinking, so I answered, “I would have ran like the rest of them.” He replied, “I would have stayed.” I then explained that it was a nice sentiment, but he would have ran too. I told him that you can’t take today’s knowledge and apply it to what you would have done yesterday. However, I also explained that he can take today’s knowledge and pre-apply it to what he will do tomorrow. There will be plenty of times in his life, and ours, where things look bad, and the opposite of what we hoped would happen will come true. There will be times where we’re tempted to blame God and deny Him, but if we decide now how we will handle it, we improve our chances of staying with Him.

Job is a tough book to read. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to lose everything in a day, including your children. It’s hard to imagine how we might respond when insult is added to injury when we then become too sick to do anything about it. I love that this book pulls back the curtains of what is often happening. Job 1:10-11 has Satan going to God against Job saying, “You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” (NLT) Satan accuses us by saying we will run from God when bad things happen, but God knows that like Job, if you will predetermine how you will respond, you can endure anything and still worship Him.

Ephesians 6:13 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 firm” (ESV). We know that troubles don’t come from God, but He allows them and uses them to test us and grow us. Job had to endure a long time with no response from God as to why everything happened. God grew his endurance and his faith in the end because he didn’t run when bad things happened. He stood firm. We must remain in Him and stand firm during the most difficult times. He is our protection, our source of strength and our hope when all is else is lost. The more difficult your situation is, the more your endurance has the ability to grow. Don’t allow today’s circumstances cause you to run. God had a plan and was working things out behind the scenes for Jesus, the disciples and Job. He’s doing the same for you even though you can’t see it. Don’t run.

Photo by Nicholas Barbaros on Unsplash

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August 25, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Truth Compacted

In a lot of Paul’s letters to the churches, he starts off slow and then hits the fast forward button in the last chapter. It’s like he knows he needs to wrap up the letter, but has so much more to say. In those moments in his letters, there’s a lot of truth compacted. One of my favorites comes from I Corinthians 16:13-14. He wrote, “Be on guard. Stand firm. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything in love” (NLT). There’s so much good stuff packed into those two verses.

First, he warns us to be on guard. He knows there is an enemy out there looking to mess you up, so he can destroy your testimony and your work for God. I Peter 5:8 puts it this way, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” We can never forget that there is an enemy who is out to prevent you from doing the work God called you to. Be on guard.

Next he says to stand firm. In Ephesians 6:11 he goes into deeper discussion about what he meant. He wrote, “Put on God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil” (NLT). The enemy comes in like a flood to knock you down, but by the power of God, you have the ability to stand firm when you are under attack. Utilize the armor that God gives us to defeat the enemy.

The next two go hand in hand. He wants us to be courageous and strong. Winston Churchill said, “Courage is the foremost of all the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” You can’t stand up to the enemy unless you have courage. David had it when he fought Goliath. Jesus had it as He carried the cross to Calvary. You and I can have it and we can be strong in our faith. Acts 1:8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (NLT). You can have God-given power to be courageous.

Finally, he tells us to do everything in love. In I Corinthians 13:2, just a few chapters back, Paul wrote, “If I had the gift of prophesy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing” (NLT). It doesn’t matter how much faith you have or what you can do for God in your own strength, you’ve got to do it in love or it’s worthless. Love is the key element in our walk with God. Live your life doing everything in love, and what you do will prosper.
 

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December 3, 2014 · 7:25 AM

Lead Me To The Rock

This morning I have the lyrics of Paul Baloche’s song “Lead Me To The Rock” going through my mind. The first verse says, “When my heart is overwhelmed, and my eyes are blind to you, and the pain of life is too heavy to bear, and then the mountains seem so high, and my faith’s too weak to climb, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” The song is based on Psalm 61:2 that says, “From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.”

Each of us face difficult times in life. Then there are those times when the rain doesn’t seem to stop. The bad things pour on you. The bad news keeps coming. It can feel like you’re going to drown in sorrow. You think, “I don’t know what I’ll do if I get one more piece of bad news.” It’s in those times that your prayer should be like David’s in this Psalm. Ask God to lead you to the rock that’s higher than you are.

I know what’s it’s like to feel like the bottom is falling out from under you constantly. When you’re looking for something, anything solid enough to stand on. You can go to God in those times. He is the rock that you can stand on. A sure foundation in times of trouble. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that is going on in your life, you can call out to Him. I can let you know that in my own life, when I’ve done that, He has shown up and rescued me. He has walked through the storms with me.

When your mountains are so high and your faith is too weak to climb, reach out and take Jesus by the hand. He will walk with you in the times when you don’t know where to turn. He will stand with you when everyone else seems to turn away. He doesn’t always take the rain away, but He does stand with you in the storm. He has a purpose in the storms you face. Sometimes it’s to teach you to walk on water and other times to show you that He’ll catch you when you’re drowning.

Whatever you’re facing today, stop and pray that God would lead you to the rock. Don’t get caught up in all the bad news to the point that you forget where your faith lies. As Peter was going under during the storm, after having walked on water, he called out, “Lord, save me!” In Matthew 14:31, the Bible says, “Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.” The storm didn’t stop until later, but that didn’t matter because he had the hand of the one whom the wind and seas obey. If you’re overwhelmed today, call out to Him and take His hand.

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