But as it is with life, there is never just one thing going on! Lately, for me, there is another dark season that coexists. A season that looks like a big, ugly wrecking ball, swinging unrelentingly with one goal...to demolish. A season of harsh and piercing words, questions that have laid unanswered for far too long, prideful arrogance, indifference, hypersensitivity, new wounds, and old wounds re-opened. Utterly at the end of myself, needing someone to stand in the gap for me. Needing someone to fight on my behalf. Desperately. Because inside, I feel numb and dead. Hopeless. Embarrassed and ashamed that I feel this way. And that’s not me. It’s not my nature. It’s not my heart. It’s not my theology. Something is broken. And I need protection. I need a warrior. I need to be led from despair to praise, because I’ve lost the path. I need help.
Have you ever been there?
Stasi Eldridge tells a story in her wonderful book, Captivating, that has “stuck” with me for years now. She tells a story of her husband, John, and how he stood in the gap for her. Of course it is a precious and powerful testimony of God’s design in marriage, and a perfect example of how a husband protects his wife from assault and warfare and leads her to Christ when she has fallen. But it is also a beautiful testimony of how we, the Body, can stand in the gap for one another.
We long for someone to stand between us and the vicious assaults of our Enemy. One weary night I had gone to bed early, overcome with despair and hopelessness. I felt pounded down, beyond saving, and worthy of condemnation. I lay still, engulfed in grief. Suddenly, John was at my bedside. He was angry, but not at me. John recognized the hand of our enemy. He began to take his authority over me as my husband and forcefully commanded the minions of Satan to release me. He commanded them to be silent, and he sent them to the throne of Jesus for judgment. When he began to pray for me, I was embarrassed. When he continued, I began to feel lighter. When he finished, tears were streaming down my face and my hands were raised to God in holy gratitude and joyful worship. I had gone to bed filled with unrelenting sorrow. I ended the night belting out heartfelt songs of praise.
He stood in the gap for her. Immediately. He didn't ask questions. He didn’t scoff at her or mock her. He didn’t judge her. He just got down to business and got it done. Sometimes it’s so easy for us to think that just because we can’t “see” someone’s heart injury, that it isn’t real. But oh, to the one who feels beyond saving, pounded down, and worthy of condemnation, the pain is very, very real.
So I would encourage you to stand in the gap for those you love. If you see a need, don't stop at "I'll be praying for you". Pray with him/her NOW, together with them. Let them feel the healing power of God as you lay your hands on them.
Look for those opportunities. Claim them. You’ll be blessed. And so will the one on whose behalf you have fought for.
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