Standing in the Gap

Reading: Ezekiel 22:23-31

Devotional

In this sobering passage, God searched for someone to "stand in the gap" and found no one. The image is of a broken wall with a breach in it—the kind of gap that leaves a city vulnerable to enemy attack. God was looking for someone who would step into that dangerous space, someone willing to position themselves between judgment and mercy, between earth's brokenness and heaven's hope.

This calling hasn't disappeared. As followers of Christ, we're invited into this same ministry of standing in the gap. We live in a world that desperately needs people who will position themselves as bridges between God's heart and human need. This isn't just for pastors or missionaries—it's for every believer who recognizes that we are God's representatives in a broken world.

Standing in the gap takes many forms. Sometimes it means interceding in prayer for those who cannot or will not pray for themselves. Sometimes it means speaking truth with love into situations where lies and deception have taken root. Sometimes it means providing practical help to those in need, being God's hands and feet in tangible ways.

This ministry often requires us to leave our comfort zones. It means being willing to enter messy situations where there are no easy answers. It means choosing to love people who might not love us back. It means representing God's character even when it's costly or inconvenient.

The beautiful truth is that we don't stand in the gap alone. Christ Himself is the ultimate gap-stander, the One who positioned Himself between God's justice and our sin. Through His death and resurrection, He made a way for us to be reconciled to God. Now, empowered by His Spirit, we get to participate in this ministry of reconciliation.

Look around your life—your family, workplace, neighborhood, community. Where do you see gaps that need to be filled? Where are there broken relationships that need healing, injustices that need addressing, or people who need to experience God's love in practical ways? You may be the person God wants to use to stand in that gap.

This calling requires both courage and humility. We must be bold enough to step into difficult places, but humble enough to know that we're not the savior—we're simply pointing people to the One who is. We're called to be salt and light, preserving what is good and illuminating what God is doing in the world.

Reflection Question: Where in your current circumstances is God calling you to "stand in the gap" between brokenness and hope?

Action Step: Choose one specific relationship or situation where you can serve as a bridge of God's love this week, and take one concrete step to begin that ministry.

Quote: "The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer