When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19 NKJV)

I was having a brief discussion with a minister friend of mind the other day and in this conversation, the above scripture came up followed by a question—What standard is in your spirit? Immediately she said she had to get off the phone because it hit her spirit and she needed to commune with God.

From a biblical perspective the word “Standard” is defined as moral excellence and a measurement of value, as well as a model of authority.

As we grew from infancy there were certain developmental standards our normal childhood development was gaged by such as talking between 12 and 18 months of age. and walking between about 10 and 18 months old. Along with this progress, our parents were teaching us there were certain boundaries or standards we had to adhere to certain things we had to avoid to stay safe such as not touching a burner on a stove, not playing with an electrical socket, looking both ways before crossing the street and never talking to strangers. The majority of us were also taught to respect our elders, tell the truth, not steal, and say our prayers before going to sleep at night. As children in school, we were expected to adhere to certain educational standards or grades—An ‘A’ for excellent, ‘B’ for good, ‘C’ for average, ‘D’ for poor, and that infallible ‘F’ for failure.

Throughout our entire educational careers, there was a continuity…

There were always those who strove for excellence but then there were also the slackers who were more interested in anything but academics. Never realizing that in their adult years that was not such a good idea. Because for us to go to the next grade or level in our lives we had to adhere to those developmental standards. Throughout our entire educational careers there was a continuity to those standards until one day we were college graduates with the qualifications to get the jobs we were educated to qualify for. And those slackers who decided not to get with the program—the dropouts never had the opportunity to realize their full potential.

Just like with God’s word, those of us who claim to be children of the Most High God should strive for excellence in that Word. (Colossians 3:23 NKJV) Although we start out as babes drinking the sincere milk of the Word (I Peter 2:2-5 NKJV) if we adhere to the spiritual developmental standards that God has established for us in that Word we can grow in Christ where we can eat the meat of the Word and understand it’s revelatory applications so that the standard of righteousness and holiness dwelling within our spirit also grows from faith to faith and glory to glory. Then when troubles in life come upon us like a flood there will be a standard within our spirit that God can raise to defeat those troubles.

But if we are slackers never advancing past…

But if we are slackers never advancing past the baby bottle stage of our lives, we will never have the opportunity to realize all the blessings we could’ve had if we’d only continuously studied to show ourselves approved unto God and applied the spiritual principles of the revelatory knowledge of that Word by staying the course (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NKJV) and keeping our eyes on the prize.

What standard is in your spirit?

May the Blessings of the LORD be with you today and always. Thank you for your continued readership and support.….Blessings and Peace!

© Rhema International 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission, from this blog’s author and/or owner, is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rhema International.