Men of God:
Warriors
By
Jeremy Dehut
“These
are the names of the mighty men whom David had…
“Josheb-basshebeth…he wielded his spear
against 800 whom he killed at one time.
“Eleazar, the son of Dodo…He rose and stuck
down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand
clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory
that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the
slain.
“Shammah, the son of Agee…in a plot of ground
full of lentils, 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 Sam. 23:8-12).
As a man, there is a part of me that daydreams about what
it would have been like to have stood in the ranks of these
men as they faced life-threatening obstacles, sticking to
their guns (I mean, swords) despite the odds, and emerging
the better for it! To defeat 800 enemies at one time, to be
abandoned in a field with the enemy, fighting until your
hand can’t release your weapon, and still be
standing! My adrenaline surges attempting to imagine it!
There is a part of a man that comes alive as his character,
endurance, and honor is forged in the furnace of conflict,
especially if he sacrifices himself in the process.
Despite what the world tells us today about what men should
or should not be, God is unflinchingly and unapologetically
clear that men were made to be warriors, defenders, and
protectors. He meant for us to live bold lives! God makes
clear to us in the Bible, from Adam to Christ, that we men
have been given a mission that involves standing between
danger and the lives and souls of those who have been
placed in our trust. However, our mission is not simply to
stand idle in the gap and wait for something to happen, but
in certain circumstances to use our strength and wisdom
proactively, in short: to take the fight to the enemies!
Please don’t misunderstand, as men of God, as
warriors of God, we fight by God’s rules with
God’s weapons for God’s reasons. This does not
mean that we celebrate every time the possibility of
conflict or danger arises, but neither do we ignore or flee
from it. It is time that we embrace this truth regarding
conflict: indispensable lessons can be learned about God
and ourselves in the midst of a battle fought by a Spirit
led warrior of God.
Men, there is something beyond this physical life, although
intrinsically connected to it! It is time for us to wake
up, and rise up; time to be honest and rediscover what we
are fighting and what we are fighting for. It is time to
remove the rust from our weapons that have in shame been
set aside for too long, and sharpen them for combat. It is
time to boldly return to the fight, confronting our fears,
and mending our wounds because the stakes are high and the
call is ours. The lessons that have been prepared for this
session have these goals in mind, and we pray you find
yourself equipped and resolved.
As Paul urgently called on the Romans to get busy about the
important matter of salvation, we warriors of God need to
feel the same urgency about taking our appointed place in
our families and churches.
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has
come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to
us now than when we first believed. The night is far-gone;
the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of
darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom.
13:11-12).