Keith from the heart…………
The minute I started reading this chapter, I immediately thought about the Shepherd boy who stood up before the great warriors of Israel and said,
“For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 1 Samuel 17:26b
“And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from this youth”. 1 Samuel 17:33
And David said to Saul……..”Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. And David said, “ the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” 1 Samuel 17: 36-37
Can you and I be like David or are we called to be just Spectators of the Battle like David’s eldest brother, Eliab, and the other seasoned warriors of Israel??? They watched, Cowards, spectators, nay-sayers, afraid to commit……..Afraid to give, afraid to sacrifice and get involved, afraid to be wounded during the fight, afraid of losing, afraid of being humiliated, disgraced, condemned and proven wrong??? The news is not good, my friends! I know many Christian men like this and I too, have been this man most of my life…..a man of the temporary earth, not a man of eternity and eternal causes…………its really not just about how much you pray, or study, or talk or teach or sound super spiritual………life is more than that……….you have to sign up for the fight…….whatever that call is ………..whatever God is telling you……..there will be a fight involved and you have to act on it!!!
Listen to Eldredge:
A man must have a battle to fight, a great mission to his life that involves and yet transcends even home and family. He must have a cause to which he is devoted even unto death, for this is written into the fabric of his being. Listen carefully now: You do. That is why God created you— to be his intimate ally, to join him in the Great Battle. You have a specific place in the line, a mission God made you for. That is why it is so essential to hear from God about your true name, because in that name is the mission of your life. Churchill was called upon to lead the British through the desperate hours of WWII. He said, “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” The same is true of you; your whole life has been preparation.
Eldredge, John (2011-04-17). Wild at Heart Revised and Updated: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul (pp. 141-142). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
Don’t wait another day, my Brothers!!!!! Stand up to fight the battle……..whatever the battle God is calling you to! Only you know what it is……..But do not put it off another day………when you are more financially stable, empty nested, free of other obligations, not working 50 hour weeks, have a better marriage, or get married, or divorced, etc, etc, etc………that day will never come! Pray for me that I will move forward to fight the battle God has called me to..
Eldredge says again:
That’s a lie of the Enemy— that your place is really insignificant, that you aren’t really armed for it anyway. In your life you are William Wallace— who else could be? There is no other man who can replace you in your life, in the arena you’ve been called to. If you leave your place in the line, it will remain empty. No one else can be who you are meant to be. You are the hero in your story. Not a bit player, not an extra, but the main man. This is the next leg in the initiation journey, when God calls a man forward to the front lines. He wants to develop and release in us the qualities every warrior needs— including a keen awareness of the enemies we will face.
Eldredge, John (2011-04-17). Wild at Heart Revised and Updated: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul (p. 142). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment