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| Standing In the Gap |
| 06-13-2007 |
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another\'s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
The ministry of Jesus was that of compassion. As Christians, we need to understand that we are to continue to walk as Jesus walked. Part of walking as He walked is learning how to carry one another’s burden. I use the word “learn” because we live in a world where it is so easy to live a selfish life and not consider the burden of others.
I remember at the beginning of the year, one of the prophecies for us in the ministry related to us carrying burdens. We see many things around us, we hear many things, and we also know what some people around us are going through. If Jesus was not a burden carrier, he would not have laid down his life at the cross. It is impossible to be a burden carrier if you are not concerned about what people around you are going through.
So what is a burden? A burden is anything that needs divine intervention from God. To a child, a burden can be a difficult class that he or she is trying to pass successfully, to someone single person, it might be a divine connection in the area of marriage and to a married woman, it might be the miracle of the fruit of the womb. So, there are many other things that people around us are going through and we need to make sure that we pray through to breakthrough for one another. It’s not just about people around us; we can also stand in the gap for nations, the ministry, and the body of Christ as a whole. Not everyone will be preachers, evangelists, or apostles but I strongly believe that everyone has something glorious to offer someone in need.
Let us not walk around with our eyes closed this week. There are people in this world that you can touch with the love of God: one of the words of wisdom that I heard is that “life is not complete until your life touches others.” A way to touch others is to carry their burdens. It is so easy for us to sit around and discuss people’s situation but how many hours do we spend tarrying in the presence of God for them? Let us think about how our lives affect the people around us and make a decision today to carry one another’s burden. The Bible states in John 21:17, He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Carrying the burdens of others is to come to understand love. When we love one another, we can easily stand in the gap for one another. If you are a true child of God; you will be involved in the ministry of compassion.
Carrying burdens is not only to pray for each other. Offering words of encouragement from a true heart really goes a long way too. If you know that a brother or sister is weak in faith, offering a word or two of encouragement can go a long way. We should get into the habit of trusting God to give us a word to strengthen someone. The bible states in 1 Thes 5:11, “Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.” Also, if a brother or sister needs to be corrected, part of carrying the burden of others is to be truthful. If a sister is going the way of destruction, correcting them is a way to show that you care and you don’t want them to fall. So let’s keep that in mind because if all we offer is words of encouragement, if someone continues to live a life of sin and all we keep saying is “it is well”, we are not doing them any good. Therefore, we need to walk in the spirit to ensure that we are strengthening and encouraging one another in the spirit and not in the flesh.
So this week, remember someone today and stand in the gap for them. Like the words of a song, though we are many, we are one body, we are one body in Christ, let us realize that we are a body, and if someone in the body is going through something, we should all be able to stand in the gap!
Oludolapo Babajide
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