There is a story about a young boy who kept standing up on the pew in his church and no matter how many times his mother told him to sit down, he would stand up anyway.  His mother took him out of the service and had him sit down in a corner outside the sanctuary because of his behavior.  The little boy angrily told his mother “I might be sitting down but I’m standing up on the inside!”

That’s the attitude Christians should have in our world today.  Many challenges will come your way but you must get back up and ‘stand up’ on the inside.  The enemy of your soul would like to discourage you and cause you to give up, but in order to fight the good fight of faith, you must keep your eyes on the Lord and run your course with endurance.  The Bible tells us not to put away our confidence and after we have done all we can do, we are told to stand.

At a low point in his life after returning from war and finding his family and all the other women belonging to the men in his army had been taken by their enemy, David did not give up.  It would have been easy to give up especially when everyone around him wanted to stone him because they blamed him for their pain, but David did not rely on anyone for support.  He encouraged himself in the Lord and we all need to learn how to do that.  David was a warrior; he was a fighter and that spirit within himself is what caused him to ‘stand up’ on the inside.

Paul and SIlas were in prison praying at midnight and at a time when their circumstances were bleak, they praised their heavenly Father.  These two men showed us that your circumstances do not define who you are.  Who you really are comes out in a time of crisis.  They had something on the inside that surpassed what was going on around them.  The spirit of God cannot be imprisoned or held back by chains.  Prayer and praise not only set them free but released the chains of everybody around them.

Purpose in your heart that no matter what you are going to encourage yourself in the Lord and ‘stand up’ on the inside.  God sees all things and God knows all things and He knows exactly how to set you free.  Don’t worry about what is going on around you. You have a freedom in Christ that no one can take away from you.  “Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6).