Pledging Allegiance

“As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand…” 1 Kings 17:1b

I have been waiting for 3 months for my new Bible Study to be released…IT’S FINALLY HERE!... Elijah -Faith and Fire authored by Priscilla Shirer. Before we even turn from Page 1 our devoted hero Elijah stood before the highest government leader in the land and proclaimed there was but one God, despite what had just been legislated. The government had proclaimed that all were to worship the god of Baal. It took boldness and courage for this man to go against the culture…the trend…the government…the law. But unapologetically he claimed that his God was the only God, and his God was alive. Then he said four powerful words … ‘before whom I stand.’ Priscilla describes this beautiful state of the mind and heart of Elijah. She explains that those four words spoke volumes of this one man’s faith. By claiming that he stood before God meant that while he was physically standing before the king, he was devotedly standing before His God. He was acting as an ambassador for God, His Kingdom, and His truths, all the while standing on foreign land. Elijah made it clear that his allegiance, commitment, and devotion was to God alone.

If we are walking around on earth, we must live our lives with the understanding that we are living on foreign ground. While mankind and our culture will try to govern over us, mold us, and bend us into what they determine is true, we must claim our allegiance to God’s statutes. Within the walls of our heart, we are God’s temple and an embassy in a foreign land. As an embassy amidst the mindset of the flesh, we are to set our foundation on the mindset of the Spirit. Like embassies, we are to be a safe haven for those seeking refuge in a troubling world. We are to operate within those walls implementing the laws of the spiritual Kingdom.

So, as we consider those four simple words, ‘before whom I stand’ what is its echo? Do we stand before our own desires instead of God’s? Do we stand before mankind desperately seeking its approval? Do we stand up for what the Bible says on certain topics instead of what our culture says? We live in times when our boldness and courage is critical to advance God’s principles. When we stand for everything, we actually stand for nothing.

The only allegiance to which we should pledge is before God. Our nation was built on God and His principles have stood true and unchanging since the beginning of time. May our lives stand true to the One who has been faithful in standing true for us.