When my days on earth are over and the Lord summons me into His holy presence, how shall I be able to stand before Him? The people of Israel purified themselves for three days before the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai, yet they trembled in fear at the sound of His voice. The Lord described Job as an upright man, yet Job said “I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent. I shall be condemned.” Even the Lord’s servant, the prophet Daniel, who was faithful to keep His laws, blacked out and could not stand in the presence of the Lord’s messenger. Even after being raised to his feet, Daniel stood trembling and unable to speak. Who then can stand before our God, the Lord of Hosts?
The people of Israel ran to Moses, pleading with him to speak the Lord’s words to them on His behalf, lest they should hear Him and die. The Lord told Moses they were right in what they had spoken and that He would raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers who will speak His words to them. Job thought long and hard over the question “How can a man be made right before God?” His answer was that he must have an arbiter, a mediator, between himself and God. Someone who could lay His hands on them both and remove the Lord’s wrath from him. Daniel also, in the midst of his fear and trembling, was visited by a third party, one who had the appearance of a man. He placed His hands on Daniel and said “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you, be strong and of good courage.” Daniel writes, “And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened.”
So it will be for each of us when we stand before God at the end of our days. I pray that you will not be standing before Him alone. Paul wrote to Timothy “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.” Peter writes this about Him, “He himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” To all those who have strayed, I plead with you, return. Return to the Shepherd of your soul. He himself pleads daily with you, return. Return to Him and be healed. In Him, there is forgiveness of sin. In Him, there is redemption and salvation. In Him alone, will you find the strength to stand.