Monday, ugh. Hard day, long day. Hard problems to work out. Unhappy people to “face” with bad news. Perhaps a little good news to pass on. So here I stand/sit/walk/run/ride/drive to the place/office/field/”cloud”–if you work in the internet. Shaking my head I pick up my mouse/pen/hammer/keyboard/rake/implement of daily battle against the chaos before me. Who will help me, of the thousands that stand ready to work out the difficulties of the day? Anyone want to go home, take the day off? 22,000 go home. What do I do now? and the Lord says He wants only 300 to work with me against thousands upon thousands? And we will use rams’ horns, not as weapons but as trumpets? and lamps, not to set fire to the enemy camp but to light up the rim of the hills?
A mixture of myself and Gideon, some days. Show me the fleece, again, please? Let me hear the dream told once more about how I win, please? Then the impossible. “We” win. The battle belongs to the Lord.
Meanwhile, some some 1200 years in the future, a Galilean carpenter takes a force of 70 simple folk and goes about to defeat the evil, ignorance, hurts, and chaos of man. They come away from the battle, “Even the demons are subject to us!” I know some demons I would like to get rid of. Then Jesus blesses them. They the few, the simple, the dedicated, have done wonders unimaginable to themselves. The battle belongs to the Lord.
Ah, then turning again to another battle. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” What great unimaginable task must I do to walk in the blissful heavenlies with the great, faithful, immortals of all time and eternity? Defeat the Midianites with a lamp and trumpet? Take the power of heaven to cast out demons?
“What is written in the law? How does it read to you?” Doctrine doctrine doctrine . . . read read read. So droll, so dry, so not glorious! “Do this and you shall live.” Luke 10:25-28. Who is my neighbor? this person to love and help and treat with respect and dignity? “Whomever you meet that needs what you can supply.” What an oddity, in helping others I help myself? Jesus asks such strange things of me, at times.
Raging, inglorious battle all around, weapons drawn, hearts pounding, rending, people saved or destroyed. Where? In my life. In my day. In the paths I take today. How do I win? Who is the enemy? Sometimes the enemy is I, or more colloquially, it is me. How do I fight me? How do I win the day? Often I know the answer, more often than I like to admit. Jesus says, “Do this and you shall live.” The battle belongs to the Lord.
Question: Who will win today?