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Who, or What, Makes you Stand?
Who, or What, Makes you Stand?
Righteous king Josiah began seeking God at age 16! He was on fire for God, but then we read something sad.
Josiah renewed the covenant with God and “made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.” (2 Chronicles 34:32). Wait, what? What’s so sad about that? Look again. He made them stand with Him. The next verse continues, Josiah “made all who were present in Israel to serve the LORD their God.” (v. 33). On the surface, it looks like there’s a real spiritual revival in the land! But unfortunately, we can’t make anyone repent. Not even the king can do that. That’s why the end of v. 33 reads, “Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the LORD God of their fathers.”
Once Josiah died, they stopped serving the Lord. Their service wasn’t sincere! They repented and served God, but only partially and only to avoid rebuke! Jeremiah alludes to this in Jeremiah 3:10, “‘Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,’ declares the LORD.” Who, or what, made them stand in worship to God? It certainly wasn’t God! It was Josiah, and perhaps the fear of punishment from Josiah.
Who, or what, makes you stand as a Christian? Are you standing because your parents or grandparents are making you stand? If so, when you move out or they pass away, what will you do then? Are you standing because the preachers or elders are making you stand? Maybe you’re standing for God because you’re afraid of letting people down. Maybe you’re standing for God so He’ll bless you with health and wealth. Maybe you’re standing for God because you have good friends in the church. If so, what happens when they move or if they change and you drift apart?
The story goes that a man with a mask came to a local mega-church with a machine-gun. He interrupted the sermon and shouted, “If you’re not prepared to take a bullet for Jesus, I recommend you leave now.” 2,000 people shrunk to about 20. The man shouted to the preacher, “There! I got rid of all the hypocrites for you, have a nice day,” and left. To be fair, I’m not looking down on them as if I’d do any better in that situation, but I do wonder what the 1,980 were standing on.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand.” (15:1). We must not stand on Josiah’s faith, our parents’ faith, our preachers’ faith, or a false version of faith that’ll only leave us disappointed or disillusioned. As Christians, we must stand on our own faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord! If it’s not God who makes us stand, anything can make us fall.
