THE DECISION AND DETERMINATION TO STAND OUT

Genesis 41:38-40; Ruth 3:10-11.

You must stand up before you can stand out. When you stand up, you must also stand right. When you stand right, you must stand for something because if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything. As you stand for what is right, you must also stand against what is negative. If you don’t have the mind to stand against what is wrong, you will not be able to stand for what is right. When you stand, stand first; you don’t need to wait for others to stand before you stand. When you stand, stand firm even in the face of challenges. Stand fast even if you must stand alone because of your chosen path, and people disagree with you.

When you stand, stand until you stand forever with angels in heaven. Joseph, Ruth and Daniel stood out despite the adverse winds that blew, the stormy waves that came to them, and the unconducive environment surrounding them. If they stood by the help of God, you could do it as well. “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” (Genesis 41:38). Joseph had the Spirit in him both in the early stages of his life and even after he received the dream from God.

“And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.” (Ruth 3:10). Ruth had a partner who enjoyed the same privileges as she did, but she chose to stand out, stand up, stand straight, stand against the idols of her land, stand firm, stand first and stand forever. Since others have done it, we will also stand by the grace of God.

1. THE PURPOSEFUL DECISION TO STAND WITH CONVICTION

Genesis 37:6-8; 39:7-12, 22-23; 41:15-16, 25, 38, 41, 46-49, 56-57; 45:5; 50:20; Psalm 105:17-22.

If a person is not convinced of what is right and wrong, what is positive and negative, and what is acceptable and unacceptable to God, they will not be able to stand. You must have conviction because conviction produces the decision and gives you the purposeful decision to stand with conviction. “And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:” (Genesis 37:6).

There are some dreams we have while asleep in the night; there are some dreams we have in the night which are the result of what has occupied our minds during the day; there are other dreams we have while wide awake during the day because of the positive example they represent, or because of what we read from the Bible about the glories of heaven and the horrors of hell. The dream of Joseph determined his conviction. Your convictions will be built on your dream.

Joseph was hated because of his dreams, but hatred did not change the dreamer’s dream; instead, the Lord deepened, broadened, heightened the dream, and showed him again. The dream makes you survive every hatred and opposition. A dreamer is not afraid of people who may not totally agree with his dream. Dreamers don’t run away from challenges. Your dreams should so possess you that they become your identifying tag. When the dreamer and the dream come from God, nobody can kill the dreamer until the dream is fulfilled. The Lord will change the mind of everyone who tries to kill you and your dreams as he changed the mind of Joseph’s brothers.

Joseph forgot the offences of his brothers against him. If you always think about those who injured and opposed you in the past, it will cloud your view, suppress your mind, and replace the dream in your heart. When tempted to sin, you must say no to the temptation, remembering that God is watching you and your dreams, and if you compromise, you will lose God’s presence, partnership and power.

Joseph was imprisoned because he stood by his conviction, but even in prison, he kept a cheerful disposition and interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners. If you go through life in partnership with the revelation of God, Who knows all things and can solve every problem and riddle, He will give you the solution, and your life will have inspiration. A thousand men and women may forget you, but God will remember you. It is the gifts you have that will lead you to be the highest and help you to stand out.

The gift that will take you to the top is already inside you; find it out, explore it, expand it, apply what you have, go to school and discover the direction you ought to go. Your appearance says a lot about you. When you stand on your convictions, the Lord will bless and increase you; hatred, contradiction, and people’s harm will not blow you up.

2. THE PERSEVERING DEVOTION TO STAND AFAR FROM CORRUPTION

Ruth 1:16-18; Exodus 21:2-6; 1 Kings 20:4; Ruth 2:11-12; Philippians 3:7-14; Ruth 3:10-11.

“And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:” (Ruth 1:16). Ruth had her roots in Moab, an idolatrous place, but she determined to stand afar from the corruption of her home country. Although Ruth had experienced losses and was still waiting for a husband, she was not moved by the riches of other men, but she maintained her conviction.

Whether you are waiting for a spouse or children after marriage, God will come through for you. What God has prepared for you, He is working on your behalf to make it happen as long as there is no corruption in your life.

3. THE PERPETUAL DOMINION FOR STANDING FAST WITH COURAGE

Daniel 1:8, 20; 3:15-20, 24-27; 6:3-5,10, 20-23; Job 17:9; Psalm 84:7, 11; Proverbs 4:18, 23-27; Daniel 12:3.

Daniel’s life in Babylon was beyond anything Babylon had ever known because he had perpetual dominion and stood fast with courage. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8).

Courage, vision, accomplishment, stamina, and a strong backbone begin with a purpose in the heart. You must learn to protect your heart and fence it against all negative conversations, dispositions, attitudes, and failure syndrome.

You must keep your heart diligently because it can be defiled by contrary opinions, which will shatter and break you, making you lack the courage to do what you need to do. If you allow people to narrate their failures to you and you accept the failure mentality in your heart, it defiles your heart and diminishes your strength. Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego were courageous and stood out even in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. As you make up your mind today to stand for Christ, with Christ in you, you will walk in your fire and get to where you need to be in Jesus’ Name. As the den of lions could not change Daniel’s mind, nothing negative will change your mind in Jesus’ Name. God has given you the grace, strength and inner energy to stand out, and He will give you more in Jesus’ Name.

Forget the past, look at Christ in the present, and know He will never leave you, not forsake you in the future. You will stand out and stand right; all the corruption around will not touch your life. You will stand straight and stand against corruption anywhere you are in Jesus’ Name. You will stand firm even when the winds and the waves blow. You will stand fast like the rock that nothing on earth will move. You will stand perpetually and stand forever in Jesus’ Name. As you can’t do anything without Christ, you must invite Jesus into your heart today so that He can help you to stand out everywhere you do.