Standing Strong in the Faith

Photo Above: (Church of St. John at Kaneo) Republic of Macedonia. Photographer: Vanjagenije 

Standing Strong in the Faith

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesian 6:12

“It is one thing to study war and another to live the warrior’s life” Telamon of Arcardia, mercenary of the fifth century B.C.

In the second book of Samuel in chapter 23 it briefly mentions King David’s mighty men. These were best of the best of King David’s soldiers. There were 300 mighty men in total, but there were also 3 among these men who were especially distinguished for certain feats they had done on the battlefield. One of these men was Shammah. The Bible describes him this way:

“11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. 12 But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory.” 2 Samuel 23:11, 12

I have heard they estimate the army he defeated at the time was anywhere from 300 to 800 men. They say this account of Shammah might be the same person referred to as Shamgar in the book of Judges who defeated 600 Philistines with an Ox Goad. Obviously a victory such as this was supernatural and came from God.

I do think we see something interesting and significant in theses verses as well about Shammah. We see that Shammah was willing to fight all by himself because he knew something significant needed to be defended. He also believed in this case that this was God’s battle to be won for Him.

God has individual battles for each and every man. There is no way around this. This is life, but it also serves as part of our sanctification and our ability to grow into the men calls us to be. We each have different battles, some people’s whole lives may be filled with battles. King David was known as man of war because all he did was battle for God’s kingdom. Other people may not have as many battles, or as many hard ones. But the important thing is to know that battles are coming your way, and the question is how are we going to respond to what is front of us?

Questions of ponder?
-What is God calling you to fight for?
-What battles are you in the midst of? How are you responding?