When You Get There, Help Others Get There. When You Stand Out, Stand in the Gap

“Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” (Joshua 1:13-15 NIV)


A pastor moved into a town and planted a church. After struggling for several years, God began to bless this pastor's work. The church grew to thousands of people, with majority being conversion growth. The church also developed several initiatives and ministries that were very effective and influential for good in the town. God also blessed the church financially. Soon, God began to bring to this pastor's notice that there were several struggling churches and ministries in the same town, some of which had started before him, some at right about the same time and others that were just starting out. He began to pray about this. In one of his prayer times, he read the following passage:

But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32 NLT)

As the pastor recalled the story, he said the statement, "strengthen your brothers" jumped at him from the passage. God then told him that he had blessed his church for a reason : to serve as a model to the other churches in town of what he (God) could do and for the church to be a source of inspiration and support for the other churches in town. God told him he had given him victory in his struggles do that he could help other pastors who were suffering. The pastor immediately informed his staff about the word from God and they embarked on an initiative to join in partnership with other churches in town. They began by praying for the other churches regularly. They met with the pastors, donated finances anonymously to the other churches and also began sharing their building and properties with other churches. As a result a fresh spirit of revival swept the town and the body of Christ prospered there.

As seen in this example and in our text, sometimes God allows you to be first in possessing a promise. He may orchestrate it that you are the first one to receive Christ in your family. You might be the first to get married among your peers or the first graduate from college in your family. Your business or ministry might be somehow extraordinarily blessed in a place where others are struggling. God might give you a working idea or a solution to an issue that is prevalent around you. There is a reason for this. That you are one of the first to receive a blessing places a responsibility on you. As God told Abraham,.

I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. (Genesis 12:2 NLT).

God blesses you and gives you rest not so that you can indulge and forget about others around you but so that you can be an example and a helper to others. You are blessed to be a blessing. Your victory is to make others victors. He gives you rest so others can find rest in your rest. He comforts you so that through your comfort, others can receive the same comfort ( 2 Cor 1:4). God makes you stand out so you can stand in the gap. Today, look around you. Where do you stand out? What battle have you won that others are still fighting? What have you received that others around you lack? Become a redistributor of your blessing. You will then be walking in God's purpose for blessing you in the first place.

Decision of the Day

I understand that I am blessed to be a blessing. I am not to indulge in my blessing forgetting those still struggling. Wherever I stand out, I will stand in the gap.