Get up-stand up!

Ezekiel 2:1-2
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.

I know that Ezekiel fell flat on his face when God came to him. Wouldn’t you? I’m sure I would. Honestly, it’s the only real reaction to a one-on-one encounter with the Creator of everything. But I think God’s reaction to Ezekiel is more important. In fact, I think God’s reaction speaks volumes to who He really is.

Notice, first off, that God doesn’t want Ezekiel down. Whether he was kneeling, bowing, or flat out on the ground, I don’t know. What I do know is this: before God would tell him anything He wanted him standing up. This isn’t just an Old Testament trait of God. Jesus tells people time and time again to get up or stand up (John 5:8, Mark 3:3, Matthew 17:7).

God doesn’t want you down either. He doesn’t want you feeling oppressed. He doesn’t want you feeling you overwhelmed. He wants you standing tall, confident in Him!

The second thing that God did for Ezekiel was acknowledge the fact that Ezekiel was physically unable to stand. Ezekiel was grounded by the awe and majesty of God; he was physically incapable of standing in His presence. But as God spoke the words, and He told Ezekiel to stand, His Spirit entered him and caused him to stand. If it hadn’t been for the Spirit of God Ezekiel would have never stood. He couldn’t have, not in the presence of God. It was God Himself holding Ezekiel upright. It was God doing the work that Ezekiel couldn’t.

Like He was for Ezekiel, God is also aware of your inability to stand up. He is fully aware of your situation in life. He sees your burdens and your struggles. He wants you to stand up and He knows that you can’t. He’ll stand you up; He’ll stand up for you!

This is why Jesus did all that He did for us at the cross: He stood in our place. When Christ took the cross He was standing up for you. When Christ bore the wrath of God and fulfilled every jot and tittle of the Law He was standing up for you. When Christ cried out “IT IS FINISHED” He was standing up for you. When Christ walked out of the tomb He was standing up for you.

He did all of this so that today you can stand up, not on your own power or authority, but on His, in the presence of God. He hung, cursed on a tree, so that you could be free of the curse. He cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” so that you can cry out “My Father, My Father, oh how You love me!” He laid down His life so that you can stand strong in yours. Without Him you’ll be down, but with Him there’s no doubt about it, you’ll stand strong!