So I sought for a man ... who would make a wall and stand in the gap before me... Ezekiel 22:30(NKJV)

We will stand in the gap for you! Lifetime guarantee!

Sometimes the advertisements we see so frequently are a little over the top. If someone is going to stand in the gap for us, it means that they will be our defense attorney when we have to go to court for anything. They will be our insurance company when there is massive flooding in our area. They will be our surgeon when we need a new heart or our counselor when we need to adjust our thinking. Theoretically, the person who stands in the gap will stand between us and all the ills that life can throw at us.

Actually, we already have someone who will stand in the gap for us – we just don’t always recognize it as such. Humans don’t have the wisdom or power to keep harm away from us. Parents and spouses and good friends will try but they can’t be all things to all people, and they can’t be in all places at the same time.

One of my favorite stories is about the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) after humans were created. Father God called in his two enforcers, Word and Breath, and they met in the kitchen (where all important meetings are held). “I’ve created humans with free will and you know what will happen! The next thing we know, they’ll start chasing all the shiny objects they can find. It’s entirely likely that, in their search for the shiny, they will get lost and not know how to find their way back home.”

Word looked at Breath, and Breath looked at Word. Finally, Word nodded his head and looked at Father God. “Ok,” he said. “I’ll provide an Easter to show people the way home; but I want a Christmas first so that we can get to know each other.”

“Done!” said Father God.

So Word became flesh and dwelt among Men. We know him as Jesus.

I believe that God is always with us – through thick and thin. We don’t always understand where he’s leading us and why, in heaven’s name, we’re turning left when we’ve always gone right – but he always has a reason for what he’s doing. If we just hang in there long enough, we’ll be surprised at where we land – and it will generally be in a good place!

The thing is, we don’t always use the same definitions. In my world, having the sewer backup three times in a year constitutes a disaster. Apparently, God looked at it like a time of learning; because the last time we finally discovered where the problem lie – and it was in someone else’s sewer line.

You have to watch out for those definitions! They can make a difference!

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.