“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30 KJV

As a believer, I’ve read the above verse several times over the years. I’ve read it soberly while thinking about my family and friends regarding their salvation, I’ve heard it preached from the pulpit many times by different ministers. But it has never resonated with my soul as much as it does today.

Looking around, (and you don’t have to look very far) it seems that everyone is living with some level of anxiety or worry. The conversations we have with friends and loved ones usually comes back around to, struggles to put food on the table, worry over the rising cost of housing, turmoil in the political arena. And if none of these causes any real angst, natural disasters coupled with the alarming rise in crime should be enough to do it. It feels like pandemonium on steroids all day, every day. Half of your brain wants to turn the TV off (forever), and the other half can’t stop watching.

I know it’s human to get anxious sometimes, and to get caught up in the hype of it all; but for the believer, the Word of God continues to be a clear road map for everything in our lives, and we should live with peace and comfort in our hearts knowing that in the midst of it all, God is in control. The scripture clearly tells us that we need to be alert, not clueless or alarmed by what is going on around us. “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17 KJV

But what about those who don’t know the Lord? Those who don’t know what His Word says? This is where we as believers come in, to be a light, and share the message of hope. “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 NKJV People need to look at us and see a difference, see that we have a peace and hope in spite of the turbulence around us.

I remember when the church used to be a place of refuge for the lost. A place where people would go to when they were at the end of themselves and needed answers. What has happened? Instead we are being sneered and mocked because we, the body of Christ, are divided and fighting among ourselves: over doctrines and dogma, translations and religious correctness. When we should be on our knees crying out to the Lord on behalf of our nation and the world.

Thousands of people are dying and going to a Christless eternity every, single day, the thought of this should break our hearts and keep us up at night; making us desperate to share a Gospel that has changed our own lives, and would bring change to others, if we’d only offer it.

And not just share the truth, but share it in love, because it is so easy to pass judgement and condemnation, reminding people, ever so subtly, just how sinful they really are. But guess what? Many of them already know that, hence the reason they’re searching for truth and hope; for something to fill the void. They don’t need us to beat them over the head with the Bible as well.

How foolish and cruel it would be, to tell a wounded man that he’s bleeding and then walk away with a box full of bandages, blaming him for getting himself wounded in the first place. It may sound trite, but it is the spiritual equivalent of not reaching out to the lost in love, and offering them the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.

They cannot do it on their own, we have to stand in the gap for them. Somebody, somewhere prayed for us at one point or another in our lives, whether we know it or not, and we have to do the same for those who are yet to come. That family member or friend, that co-worker you see every day, the person who told you they’ll never set foot in another church.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in the lives of believers across this nation and the world, stirring up a desire to see lives saved for the Kingdom. Pray for the Holy Spirit to move on the hearts of those who don’t know Him, preparing them to receive His Word; because the world has become so desensitized to the things of God we cannot go in our own strength, we need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives in order to be effective.

We cannot all be missionaries, to literally go into all the world and preach the Gospel, but we each have the weapon of prayer and intersession at our disposal and can use it whenever and wherever night or day, so let us use it.

” I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” 1 Timothy 2: 1-2 KJV