Read Ezekiel 22:9-11 – “The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD. (NKJV)
In the verses above, Ezekiel and God lament together the spiritual condition of God’s people, even that of the leaders. The leaders have proven corrupt, manipulating the people with phony statements from God and using their positions to serve their own lustful desires. Of course, these aren’t the first or the last spiritual leaders to prove themselves unworthy. When a leader’s wicked heart is revealed, many people throw up their hands in frustration, asking, “What’s the use?! Why bother living a righteous life if even the leaders are corrupt?” That’s when God says that he looked for a man to “stand in the gap.” A faithful man stands connected to God, even if those he depended on prove undependable. No individual’s choice alters the choice of the one who stands in the gap. Even a leader’s failure won’t stop the faithful man from serving the God who has given him life.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
National Men’s Leadership Conference: March 8-10, 2012 . Dallas, Texas . www.men.ag.org
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