But Elijah said, “I swear by the Lord Almighty, in whose presence I stand… 1 Kings 18:15 (NLT)
The biblical depiction of prophet Elijah is amazing and our reference scripture for today shows an important characteristic of his life that made him a powerful servant of God: He stood in the presence of the Lord.
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” (NKJV)
A simple definition of righteousness is right standing with God.
Many of us desire to be used by God but fail to understand the simple requirement to stand before God’s Holy presence.
Before you and I can mean anything before God, we need the boldness to stand in His presence.
You may ask: how can I stand in God’s presence?
The answer is in Psalm 24:3-4: Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. (NKJV)
To have access to a holy God, we must be holy as He is holy. He commands us in James 4:8-10 to cleanse our hearts and purify our hands in order to experience his power: Come near to God and He will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. Be humble before the Lord, and He will make you great – James 4:8-10 (ERV).
Where do you stand today?. Are you standing before God or standing with sin and the world?
Remember, no matter where you stand today, one day, you will stand before the judgement seat of Christ to give account of all you did with your life. (2nd Corinthians 5:10) Why not choose to repent and to come boldly to His throne of grace today. (Hebrews 4:16).
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know you came into the world to give me a right standing with the Father. From today, believing in your sacrifice on the cross, I repent of my sins and dedicate my life to you. Please give me the grace to have clean hands, a pure heart and stay away from idols. Amen.