Weekly Update – 13th July

Stand in The Gap!

 Almost two years ago, the world was outraged by the felling of the Sycamore Tree that had grown in a gap on Hadrian’s wall and there was a national uproar. I still feel a bit angry about the senseless destruction and sadness that such a beautiful part of the world God gives us had been cut down, ruined forever. The BBC this week reported that a large section of the tree had been turned into a beautiful bench display with the tree in the middle and people were being encouraged to come and sit and hug the tree if they felt like it.

There are quite a lot of trees mentioned in the Bible such as a Cedar of Lebanon, Oak Tree, Fig Trees and of course a sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed into, to get a better view of Jesus when he passed by. (Luke 19 1 – 10). The Sycamore Gap Tree was famous and had been in movies and television dramas and was a very loved, majestic and handsome tree that stood alone in the gap in the wall for over 100 years.

However, I began to wonder if God was not asking me to think about the tree but rather the gap that it once stood in.

Standing in the gap is a biblical principle. The phrase “stand in the gap” can be found in Ezekiel 22:30 and is a powerful biblical metaphor that emphasizes intercession, advocacy, and responsibility in the face of moral, spiritual, or societal failure. (©Bible Ask,2025)

In the context of the passage, Ezekial is referring to Israel at a time of turmoil and his disappointment at nobody standing up and being counted, stepping in and praying for God’s land and people.

What about us? Are we standing up and being counted for those who don’t know that God loves them? Are we pushing back on the endlessly difficult headlines every single day where people do not have the peace of God in their lives? Are we saying that we will not just sit by and watch, being a spectator and feeling completely unable to make any difference at all to the people whose lives we see and feel thankful that we are not suffering like those poor people on the news? “It’s not my problem, Lord, there’s no point praying about it as I’m only one little voice and how can I possibly make any difference at all. I’ll not bother then…ok what’s for dinner?”  Can we relate to feeling like that a bit?

Please don’t be a spectator looking at the “gap” and not thinking you have anything that you could contribute to the kingdom of Heaven.  Stand in the gap for Allington! Stand in the gap and intercede for those we see who are hurting or afraid! Dare to stand in the gap and realise that, yes, I’m only a small drop in a bucket, but lots of drops fill the bucket and lots of buckets fill the pond, then the river, then the lake and eventually the ocean. We must start somewhere, and God wants us to start exactly where we are right now and come to our heavenly Father and pray. Get on our knees and pray for the world. Tell Him what concerns you and don’t be overwhelmed by the size of the problem because our Father God is so much bigger than that!

Finally, say thank you for the greatest person ever to stand in the “gap” and be counted, Jesus. He willingly put himself out there for us to die on a cross and put himself in the way of the punishment that should have been ours. He repaired the connection with God that was broken by our sin. He made a way by bridging the gap between us and God. Thank you Jesus for that!

 

Have a blessful week.

 

Jackie.