Mighty Men/Women of Valor
"38 All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king. "
AFter reading I Chronicles 11 & 12 and hearing the phrase, over and over, 'Mighty Men of Valor'...I kept thinking...what did it take....back then....to be a mighty man of valor.
Obviously, these guys were really bad dudes. Or maybe 'super good' dudes....like super-men in a way. But, I know that their 'powers' were really came mostly from practice and instruction (that's really important), being able to overcome tough living and 'working' conditions (they probably didn't live a plush life and then run out and whoop the enemy)....and, based on the feats recorded....they were probably super-brave because they BELIEVED in the strength of their God and the strength of their position as the favored Ones of their Almighty God.
So...I got to thinking. So many times in the new testament, we are reminded by the apostles that we are in a battle. These were not 'obvious' Mighty Men of Valor types that were declaring we were in a battle....no....they were more like humbled men that used to be fishermen, scholars, more fisherman....that type. The apostles were not guys who were ever trained for battle...except maybe battle with a net full of fish....yet they kept talking about shields and the armor of God and this great battle that we have to fight as Christians. Hmmmm.
So...what does it take to be a Warrior in this great battle that is apparently raging on around us, that we can either ignore or become proficient in fighting.
Well...we probably need practice and instruction ( on what the battle is...where it is...who were are fightying...what armor? where is the armor?...how do we put it on ? how do we keep it on?...etc.) And we probably have to be able to consistently show up for this battle...no matter how we feel about it or whether we want to or not....and lastly, we have to BELIEVE in the importance of this battle and the strength of our God and the position that we have as a result of the strength of our commander and God.
Just thought that I would 'think out' these thoughts concerning our 'elusive' battle as we wake up and decide, each morning, if we will acknowledge this incredible battle field that we are supposed to face. I'm sure the enemy wants us to keep asleep...but to our little army I say, 'Awake!' Let's go figure out where the armor is and how to put it on and where to fight today.
After all....every day...our Commander has an area that he would like us to do battle in. He has a specific job for each of us. Are we willing to wake up, take our position and fight in the Spirit against unseen enemies in the spiritual world? Are we willing to fight for people that need to be free, whether they know it or not? Or do we just want to continue sleeping and let the enemy gain ground on our watch?
Awake!
Mighty Men/Women of Valor...This is not an easy 'title' to keep!
Created over 1 year ago
