Stand

"...When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19

    I've heard this so many times spoken by so many different people and yet, I never really considered what it meant. It means that God will immediately solve every problem that we encounter and we just stand there and do nothing? No. 
      In ancient times, the emperor would carry a standard, or  a flag, into battle. The standard would be raised to signal to the soldiers that it was time to fight, it was like a green light. So, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up  a standard. We are in a war and God has lifted up the standard - it's time to fight. 
   The standard is not lifted so that the soldiers can enter into the battle unprepared. God has not sent us out to battle alone, He has equipped us with power. He's there with us. We are His ambassadors on earth and He's looking for us to carry the gospel to the world. What are we waiting for? The standard means "go." 
   We have a great responsibility. We are on the front lines of this battle. It takes place at school, in the streets and at work. There are so many lost and broken people and there are also those who are trying to  deceive others. You have atheists saying there's no God, the government legalizing gay marriage and schools trying to teach us evolution. It's time to take a stand. 
   When David heard that the "uncircumcised philistine" was defiling the name of his God, he didn't hesitate. He didn't just arbitrarily take up five stones, he took up five stones and went in the name of the Lord. Sometimes, we want to stand up against things but we don't go in the name of the Lord. Sometimes we try to do it our own way, thinking that we know what's best. David went in the name of the Lord and we should too.
   The standard has already been lifted and we are already in battle, it's time to fight.