Have you ever noticed that the bible talks about “standing firm” a lot?

Here’s an example:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1, NIV, my emphasis.

Sounds wonderful. But, what on earth does standing firm mean?

What does it truly look like to stand firm when everything looks like it’s going, well… wrong?

This week, I feel like God has shown me what it means to stand firm in the middle of a mess!

1. Standing firm means… Don’t Settle for less!

In the bible, there is a story about a woman called Esther.

In chapter 8 of Esther’s story she gets a breakthrough.

Her number one enemy has been impaled on a pole and, along with her cousin Mordecai, she inherits a fortune:

The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.

Esther 8:2, NIV.

I can’t even imagine what wealth these two people inherited. This king was insanely rich.

On top of that, the man that was out to kill Mordecai was dead. This is surely a great result for both Esther and her cousin.

Yet, Esther is not satisfied.

She has one mission: To save her people, the Jews. She determines not to be satisfied until her mission is complete. So she goes back to her king and asks him again to revoke the order put in place to destroy her people.

I feel like some of us are about to settle for less than what we originally hoped for.

I hope my words stop you in your tracks today: Please stop and remember your original mission.

Remember the thing that you first asked God for.

Don’t be distracted by something that looks like breakthrough, but isn’t.

Spoiler alert: Esther did manage to save the Jews from annihilation. And when she did, here is what happened:

The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies.

Esther 8:11, NIV, my emphasis.

 Not only did the degree save the Jewish people from death, it also meant that the Jewish people could plunder the property of their enemies. This was an added bonus. A God-given freebie, if you like.

My point: God will give you the real-deal breakthrough, and more. But don’t settle for the “more” without the initial breakthrough.

Don’t say that it is “mission accomplished,” when it really isn’t.

Standing firm means we don’t settle, even when we are tempted to. God has breakthrough and then some for you.

2. Standing firm means… Showing up.

As I began to write this blog today I heard God speak this phrase:

“Waiting in the wings.”

I feel like some of us are waiting in the wings when, really, we need to go on stage before God and keep showing up.

If any of you have been to a performance before you know that actors present the same show again and again for weeks. They show up consistently and when they cannot show up they get a friend to step in and fill the gap for a night or two.

When it comes to our hero, Esther, she kept showing up.

I have been writing about Esther for 8 weeks on this blog and I have lost count of how many times she says yes to her mission.

In chapter 8 she is distraught. Time is running out, she needs to save the Jews:

Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.

Esther 8:3, NIV.

Some of us need to go on a metaphorical stage before God, falling at his feet and weeping. We need to beg and cry and ask again… and again.

Remember: It is God that moves the mountains, not us. So it’s Him we should be showing up to.

Standing firm might sound like a stoic and well-presented act. Maybe that is what we have portrayed a firm stand to look like in today’s society.

But, hey, there is good news for you and me – the ones with the tears and trials…

We can show up messy and ugly before God and that is what it truly means to stand firm. Not when we have all the miracles. Not when we have prayers answered. Standing firm is the snotty bit in the middle where we cry: “Why God,” more times than we think is enough.

Maybe you need to go back to God today, I know I do.

I know that Jesus and I need a bit of an honesty hour and I know that will change more things in my week than any amount of organisation, work or productivity.

If this is you, let my words be an encouragement – go to God messy and simply ask again.

In Luke 8, Jesus tells a story about a widow who keeps showing up. It reads:

[Jesus] said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

Luke 18: 2-5, NIV.

• Keep coming to Jesus with your plea.
• Keep bothering God with your question.

That’s what standing firm looks like.

3. Standing firm means… triumph.

Esther chapter 8 reads:

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.

Esther 8: 17, NIV, my emphasis.

When Esther completed her mission and successfully gained freedom for her people, there was a time of triumphant joy.

When the news comes to the Jewish people that they are to be free from annihilation, there is joy.

I wonder: Do we get excited about our freedom?

Are we good at celebrating?

Because that is what makes us stand out in a world lacking hope.

In the book of Esther, people became God-fearing Jews because they witnessed their miracle and saw their celebration.

That means: People saw how these people partied for Jesus and wanted what they had.

We have an amazing God. We can celebrate His victories. Each Jesus-loving person has a reason to praise.

My son is named “Judah,” which means praise. In the bible, Judah was Leah’s son.

I first fell in love with the name when I heard a church pastor – named Judah – talk about comparison.

He was re-telling a story from the bible about a woman called Leah, found in Genesis 29.

Leah shared a husband with her sister, Rachel.

Rachel was prettier than Leah. This meant husband, Jacob, loved Rachel more than Leah.

Leah was bitter, jealous and felt unloved. She was trapped in comparison.

But God kept giving Leah babies.

Leah kept naming her babies in the midst of her pain, hoping her husband would love her, due to her child-bearing abilities.

After much striving, she conceives a fourth son and there is one line in the bible:

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Genesis 29: 35, NIV, my emphasis.

This time… she celebrated what she had.

To me, this verse has special meaning because before I bore my Judah I was trapped in my own bout of comparison. But, something changes when we make a decision to praise God for what we have. When I stopped comparing in my head, I saw a miracle in my life.

No one has exactly what you do and no one can give God the praise that you can.

Standing firm looks like celebration.

Final Encouragement…

Standing firm doesn’t look like settling for less. It doesn’t look well put-together. It doesn’t look like staying trapped in bitterness, comparison or sorrow.

Standing firm is staying mission-focused. Standing firm is messy. Standing firm is celebration.

I know I am preaching to myself but believe there is another someone out there who needs to hear this: Stand up. Stand firm.

Walk into the next week knowing that you are holding on, just like those that are written about: Esther, the persistent widow and Leah. Remember this verse:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1, NIV, my emphasis.