Battle Cry
“My heart is thumping, trying to keep up with my feet. The ground is rough and my vision is blurred with the speed of the run. But I can still see them ahead of me; faces once unclear and unknown now slowly starting to take shape with each thundering step. Weapons once unseen, now are raised and brandished. Voices penetrate the air, words incomprehensible but the intent undeniable.
As my mind starts to play the scene in slow motion, it starts to analyze what is going on. The outcome is non-negotiable; it’s just a matter of time; this is the end. What is now a green, green field will soon become red, stained with the outpouring of life. My blood will surely flow and as the reality of this hits home, I question the Cause that brings me here. I am torn between the seductiveness of safety and the alluring attractiveness of living, perhaps losing, my life for something worthwhile. Is it too late to stop and turn?
I turn to my right and I catch His eye, or perhaps He catches mine through the doubt and fear written all over my face. The unmistakable twinkle dances in His eyes; eyes that are prepared for what lies in store; eyes that understand my fear yet expect my all. His hand reaches to His side and raises a gleaming sword above His head, and in unison the rest of this ragamuffin band of warriors do the same.
As we each look forward and focus on what is to come, He lets out a battle cry, “I will never fail you or abandon you!*�.
The smell of fear is all around us as we fan out into a line, weapons drawn and ready for what is to come. Yet through the fear, it is life that we taste, and life to the full!
Whoever would have guessed that a call to follow Him would have led us here…�
* (Josh 1:5)
