Standing in the Gap

I have the pleasure of doing and hosting podcasts for my church highlighting our various ministries. During the most recent podcast with our Haitian Ministry, I touched on the phrase “standing in the gap.” It was front of mind as in one of my blogs I reference Jackson Browne’s song, “Standing in the Breach,” that uses the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake as a rallying cry of the need to “bend our backs and hearts together standing in the breach.”

Most if not all our church ministries “Stand in the Gap or the Breach” with their mission. They are fulfilling an unmet need. A gap in society related to poverty, homelessness, education, and even fellowship. "Standing in the breach" means taking action to protect or defend those who are vulnerable or in need, often when others are unwilling or unable to do so.

It means protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. It means working towards positive change wherever and whenever positive change is needed. It even means interceding on behalf of others, often through prayer or other acts of faith, service, advocacy, and moral guidance. We all have neighbors in need. Standing in the gap is being Christ like, our actions are to enhance the holiness of life, life given by God. It’s important to stay thirsty for righteousness, but to also to stay hydrated, too. That means when we stand in the gap for our less fortunate neighbors – we should be drinking in all their stories as we pray and advocate for them. Let their stories enrich our lives. Value them as a person and their experiences.

Breaches or gaps can create significant issues. False storefronts are facades that look great on the outside but are only window dressing. They hide the old and ugly storefront. If a fire gets going in the gap between, firemen have a huge problem fighting it because of the hidden nature of it. Even the smallest of gaps when under pressure can be disastrous. A gap created by a frozen O-ring not allowing a true seal caused the Challenger explosion. "Watch or Mind the gap" is a safety warning issued to passengers while crossing the station platform to the train.

Coming together is a way that communities or nations stand in the breach. We see time and time again that when tragedy strikes, people care about one another, they answer the call, do whatever needs to be done. 

Ephesians Chapter 4 is often looked at as a plea for unity in the church. But Christian unity is more than adherence to a common belief. It is shown in serving the community more Christlike by standing in the gap. St. Paul writes in the opening verses, “I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit.” Paul is preaching to the Ephesians to stand in the gap for each other.

An everyday common area where we can stand in the breach within ourselves is in our words, in our actions. Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden saw hypocrisy in the gap between 'Do as I say’ and ‘not as I do.' Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. A self-hypocrite is a person who pretends to have virtues or qualities or whose actions contradict their stated beliefs or feelings. Hypocrisy can be the gap that exists between our public life and our private life. If there is a gap, we must watch our steps more carefully lest we trip ourselves or, worse, fall into the opening.

In the ancient world of the Bible, cities had walls surrounding them to provide protection from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction; the only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy. This is the reference behind Ezekiel’s plea, “I sought a