“Stand All the Way Up” Book Review

Some of you may have been graced with a pain-free life, but I am not one of those people. I am taking comfort in God’s word and declaring my statement of faith despite all the conflicts that seem to navigate directly to me like I have this vast bull’s eye on my back. 

My covenant-keeping God has promised me in Psalms 34:19 that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him/her out of them all.” So, after praying my humble “I believe but help my unbelief” prayer this morning, I am finding the strength to raise my hand in the declaration of victory. I didn’t find strength in me but Praise God. He always has the strength to spare and never fails to give me from His endless supply. 

Because here is the deal…

Life is going to hit you hard. It will come at you from all directions. All at the same time. If you haven’t experienced this yet and are serving God, it will at some point in your life. I’m not telling you to scare you but only to prepare you. 

I don’t always understand why that is in my head, but the voice in my soul tells me He has some good in mind for me, which is the only reason it has been allowed. Strength and a deeper connection with my risen Savior always ensue after a long night of warfare. Nights where weeping may endure for the night, but Hallelujah, that joy comes in the morning. It is a pleasure you will never know without first going through some stuff.  

I don’t always handle the thrown-at-me-life stuff very well. Even after all these years of serving God, I still fail sometimes.  Sometimes, I try to duck when life starts hurling rockets at me.  Other times, I try to fight back with my words. I have been known to hide in the trenches and cry to avoid flying shrapnel. Then there are those times I cower in the corner, beat up and bruised. It’s a far cry from all those glamorous daughter warrior graphics I see floating around on FB and IG. All I can say in my defense is sometimes life is messy. 

I am also going to throw this out there.

I have been hanging out in this corner lately, feeling beaten up and bruised. I’m not too proud to admit that. But God has so lovingly reminded me that this corner is not a place for His daughter to land and stay. Hallelujah again. 

Amid all the chaos, He sent a search party out for me. He is always in charge of the rescue, which can come in different ways.  This time, it came in the form of a book.  This sweet, endearing book that landed in my hands at such a time as this has changed my entire perspective.

With humor, grace, and grit, Mrs. Sophie Hudson has reminded me of something significant.  She has reminded me that there are times when we have to Stand All the Way Up when life makes us want to burn it all down.  We can indeed Stand All the Way Up when all we want to do is sit down. Sometimes, we have to stand up for what we believe, stand up to others, stand up for others, stand up even to ourselves, and stand up to that big bully called the enemy. Thus, this much-needed reminder for this girl crouched in her own corner.

Sophie has reminded me that God never called his people to defeat but to victory. He never called us to hide but to be seen.  We were never called to sit around, which made us feel useless, but it gave us purpose in significant amounts—never called us to sit down and quit, either. And He most certainly never called us to sit crouched up in the corner, beaten and bruised—a BIG Amen to that one. 

Healing is a given. Strength is a given. Perseverance is a given. Whatever you require, throw it in the mix and declare it is a given.  Because, sweet friend, Victory with a capital “V” is a given.  Jesus bought every last inch of it at Calvary and marked it paid in full on our behalf. Something the enemy tries his best to get us to forget during a long, heated battle on the front lines. 

God wants to partner with us. Travel with us.  Fight for us. Deliver us. Rescue us. Restore, repair, and redeem us.  And stand with us on the battlefield of life and fight alongside us. He could easily give us that pain-free life, but how boring that would be.

 After all, He is Our Great Physician, Our Lord of Hosts, Our Provider, Our Peace Speaker, Our Way Maker, and today, My Great Stand-Her-Upper. If you didn’t ever go through some stuff, You would completely miss out on knowing Him.  And I have found Him to be unlike any other I have ever known.  And I mean that in the most amazing of ways. 

Thanks again to Sophie Hudson for reminding me that we can overcome even through loss, heartache, disappointments, and even failure. Yes, because of Jesus and God’s powerful Word, we get to “get up, straighten up, and stand up all- the-way- up.” Her very words are so worth repeating. 

So today, join me in whatever field you are in at this time of your life.  Whether it is the plowing field gathering field, or you are somewhere like me smack dab in the middle of a battlefield, join me as I Stand All the Way Up in Jesus’s Name. 

We can Stand Up because that delivering us from ALL our afflictions is coming, sweet friend. I will repeat it…Victory is a given. 

See you in the field, 

Susan 

*You can find Sophie Hudson’s book wherever Christian books are sold, including on Amazon.  The complete title is Stand Up All the Way: Stories of Staying in It When You Want to Burn it All Down. This is a must-read, folks. She also has three other books, all of which are well worth your time to read.