How Do I "Stand in the Breach"?

Last Sunday, we discussed Psa 106:19-25 and how Moses "stood in the breach." He is the "covenant head" of Israel, the covenant people had violated the covenant in the most grotesque of ways (considering their golden calf party likely included pagan sexual behavior), thus opening up a large breach in "walls" of the covenant, but Moses acted as the covenant head should and stood in the breach on behalf of the people. He knew exactly where he should stand - between God's wrath and God's people.

The encouragement for Christian men is to stand in the breaches of the walls of our own homes. Men should serve as covenant head in the same way as Moses - standing between danger and their families, especially the spiritual dangers that threaten us. But, the question is "How?" If I agree that as a husband I should be standing in the breach, that doesn't mean I know exactly how to do that. I know some of you have asked this question, and I know I have, too. Perhaps the sermon should have provided more help in this direction.

However, a simple "How To Stand in the Breach" or "Standing in the Breach for Dummies" would not be an easy book to write. Every breach is different. Every breach is unique to the family it affects. There is no way to be able to develop "Three Steps to Effective Breach-Standing" or "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Breach-Standers."

The first step is to commit to stand. To be bold enough to look for the breaches, to be honest enough to identify them, and then to be courageous enough to stand smack dab in the middle of them. If we can convince the men of the church to do that much, the "how to's" will come. First, we must determine to stand. If we've firmly committed to that, then by definition we've also committed to find how to stand there.

There are easy examples. If unaccountable Internet access is a breach, then stand in the breach - make access accountable and take the heat for it. If financial habits are a breach, then stand in the breach - find the tools, classes, and counselors to rein in the habits and deal with the harsh realities of change. If your hair-trigger anger is a breach, then stand in the breach - remove the danger by necessary means, which may mean that you have to be man enough to admit weakness and character flaws. And so on - standing in the breach means making the tough, right decisions to close the breaches and to take the heat and responsibility for them.

It's the tough examples that the men will have to commit to figure out. Sometimes, the breach has been open for so many years that repairing the wall will take months or years. Stand in the breach. Commit yourself to the months and years it takes. Do not let excuses be stronger than your resolve to fix the breaches. And then stand in the gaps while the repairs are going on.

That's what covenant heads do. They commit to make it right for the family, even if they don't know "how to." Do you think Moses had a "Leading the Exiles Through the Dessert for Dummies" book handy? Not a chance. What he had was the resolve to stand in the gap and then figure out how to repair the damage.

May the Lord steel the resolve of our men to stand. May the Lord give wisdom and grace to our women to help the men stand with success.