The Standard

Dear Partners and Friends,

Have you ever felt like everything was coming in on you all at once? Have you ever felt like you take one step forward in God and a situation drives you back two steps? Sometimes in our daily lives, it seems like the enemy has come in on us like a flood trying to overtake everything.

But, God has provided a scripture in His word to stand on concerning the enemy coming in so strongly.

Isaiah 59: 19

So, shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun.  When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

This very scripture tells you that there will be seasons in life when the enemy will try to come in on you, overtake you, and just “flood” you out! It may seem that a massive number of things are rising up against you, but his is a tactic that the enemy will use to keep you from staying connected to God and His promises. We, here in Oklahoma, have just recently gone through this very thing naturally watching nightly news and seeing whole towns being covered by water. We know people personally whose houses were flooded, and we watched as they had to be evacuated by boat. We have friends who had cattle lost in the flood. We have been standing daily for the rain to stop so people would not have to endure any more signs of flooding on their property. Very real situations in life! Looking back now, I have a greater revelation of Isaiah 59:19.  

See, Champs, there will be times in life that we will have to stand against the flood that the enemy will bring our way; but no matter what, during that time of the “flood”, we have God on our side. The word of God tells us that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall hold up a standard against him (the enemy). So, in the midst of the storm we can know that we have every right to call upon the Lord, call upon the Holy Spirit, use the name of Jesus and apply His blood because God has set forth that standard!

The word standard is the Hebrew word Qep, and it means to make a way to flee, escape, depart from in such a way that the flood vanishes away. In other words, when the enemy comes in like a flood, God has a way for you to flee, escape, depart from and to vanish away that situation. He uses the Holy Spirit to lift up the way of escape. But, we have a part to play. When the enemy is trying to flood us out, we have to lift up our eyes and voice to God and look for that escape in Him. That escape is not in what we see, not in the natural light of things, but just purely standing on His word in Isaiah 59:19. Know that God has sent the Holy Spirit to lift up a way of escape from the floods of life. 

-Coach Brim