On our side

Imagine standing on a battlefield all alone facing an angry army of 1,000 men, each breathing torturous threats. Suddenly you feel the earth pound beneath your feet like the hoofbeats of 10,000 horsemen. Your heart nearly melts with fear as you prepare yourself for the ever-mounting foe. Then you realize it wasn’t 10,000 horsemen after all. It was one. Your gaze lifts higher and higher as you try to focus on His face with the sun in your eyes. He looks 100 feet tall atop His stallion, and His very presence emanates authority. He is stunningly beautiful. Staggeringly powerful. His horse gallops onto the battlefied, kicking up the earth. The rider firmly pulls the reins and brings His horse to a halt right beside you. The horseman then looks down at you and says, “Proceed into battle, mighty warrior. I am on your side.”

“Think of it—one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because GOD is God, your God. Because he fights for you, just as he promised you.” (Joshua 23:10, The Message)
 
This passage from Beth Moore’s Stepping Up study immediately brought to mind another battlefield scene: Eowyn, shield-maiden of Rohan in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, fully covered in armor, with terror in her eyes but fierce determination in her heart, realizing the strength she had within her, buoyed by the rousing speech of future king Elessar, raising her sword above her helmeted head and releasing a primal scream of confidence just moments before thundering forward into battle.

Eowyn was always my favorite character in the book and the films, but today I can finally relate to her. Today I realize that I, too, am a warrior. Though trembling at the sight of my enemy and his minions, all of whom would like nothing more than to put me to death, I can — and will — proceed into battle with courage and readiness because I am not alone. I am never alone. My God, my beloved King Jesus, is on my side. And when God is for us, it doesn’t matter who is against us. Jesus assured us the victory. We simply have to fight the good fight until that final victorious day arrives.

Photo by Pierre Vinet – © 2003 New Line Productions