“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Ezek. 22:30
The NIV tells us that the wall spoken of here is not made of stones, but one of faithful people united in their efforts to resist evil. Likened to our present day, this wall of faith was in disrepair yet few would step up to lead these unfaithful sheep back to God.
We Cleary’s just returned from a week’s trek through the Sierra’s before dropping our middle son off at college in the Bay Area. As we hiked North Dome in Yosemite and immersed ourselves in this indescribable grandeur of God’s creation, it was difficult to contain our awestruck wonder of God Almighty! Yet as we ended our Yosemite portion of the trip and entered our time in San Francisco, we were awoken to the sad realization that despite the “high” we just experienced with our Savior, the reality is, this world system mocks and denies His very existence. And to flourish within our societal system, yet not be assimilated into it, requires a diligent swim upstream in the waterways of the cultural norm.
So the next day, as we emotionally readied ourselves to drop off Conner at Stanford University (a prestigious school in society’s eyes, but one that embraces the ways of this world), we beseeched God with this short request:
~~Will you consider joining us and pray this over yourself and those you love?
“Lord Jesus, please bless us with a progressing revelation of You, Your will, and a deeper understanding of the boundaries/walls You’ve placed in and around our lives…walls You’ve placed for our benefit (not to somehow constrain us from happiness). Then, with this divine understanding and discernment will You help us to live within these boundaries while we uncompromisingly violate the culture around us with Your love and for Your glory? Lord, please help us to be so connected with You in relationship that our own sinful desires become exceedingly distasteful to us. And then, if need be, help us to stand ‘in the gap’ (like Noah) and speak against the evils of our day. Lord, please give us Your eyes into the culture, circumstances and relationships around us, and give us divine discernment to interact with them as You would. Amen.”
God bless you this week!
Much love,
Shaun and Betsy
