As we raise our children we certainly don’t want them to be contentious, but we do want them to be prepared for conflict. We hope to train our children to be tough. There is a time for everything, including a time for war, and battles require warriors. In some of King David’s final words he recounted the names of specific soldiers that served with him in combat. He began by listing the most dominant of them all, “the three mighty men.”
These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory. (2 Samuel 23:8–12)
David goes on to acknowledge the valiant feats of others in battle. They were heralded not only for the number of people they killed, but also for other heroic accomplishments. Among those included striking down a lion on a snowy day and taking the spear out of an Egyptian’s hand and using it against him. Honor is owed to any man or woman who acts with valor at such great personal risk!
In our legitimate desire to honor courageous behavior, however, we should not stop at the feet of the warrior. Notice what David did after describing the individual actions of his greatest men. In verse 10 he wrote, “And the Lord brought about a great victory that day.” Again, in verse 12 he ended the account with “And the Lord worked a great victory.”
David knew the importance of giving honor to whom honor is due, but victory is secured by the Lord. 2 Samuel 8:6, “And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.” And again in 2 Samuel 8:14, “And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.” Additionally, Proverbs 21:31 reads, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”
Understanding this helps us in a couple ways. First, the outcome of our battles is not our responsibility. Our role is to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:11-12). Those are His orders and we must remain steadfast in the post that God has assigned to us, leaving the result in His hands. Victory belongs to the Lord!
Second, you may not feel like a warrior. You may be concerned that you lack the physical strength, the experience, the training, the tools or even the courage. Do not be discouraged. God has called the Christian to a different conflict. Your assigned campaign may be one of godly endurance. 2 Corinthians 6 describes the Christian that is commended that endures afflictions, hardships and calamities with purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit and genuine love. It notes that we are armed with “weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left.” We’re loaded for bear!
If your mission has been reduced to one of suffering, know that even in this you are fighting for God. “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:3). Faithfully stand your post Christian. Endure affliction with patience and be armed with righteousness and genuine love. We have been commissioned to please our Commander, we have been given the weapons to accomplish the mission and we have been assured a victory that belongs the Lord!