Ordinary Heroes, Extraordinary Results

Until the day when our faith becomes sight, when we see our Lord face to face, we will continue to seek Him and His will and ask for courage to continue our journey in victory.

When we see Him face to face, we will also be reunited with those we love who have gone on before us and we will become acquainted with those we have read about – Moses, David, Samuel, Deborah, Esther, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Peter, Matthew, Mark and John, and many more. We will have the opportunity to speak with these heroes of the faith that we have admired and whose lives have served as examples for us.

We will also have the opportunity to meet countless scores of other “ordinary heroes” whose names have not been extolled in the histories of the world. We will meet men and women who risked their lives, left their families, headed toward certain danger and gave everything they had, to establish God’s Kingdom in the earth.

These ordinary heroes changed their world. They sought the Lord, heard His command and stepped out in faith to make His promises a reality. They refused to accept the status quo or wring their hands in defeat when the forces of hell arose. They didn’t talk about how bad things were and lament the state of affairs - they fought valiantly to defeat evil. They recognized who the real enemy was and fought in the power of the Spirit to defeat him.

2 Samuel 23: 9,10 recounts the story of one such ordinary hero.

“And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.”

We know that the Lord anointed David as King of Israel, but his kingdom was not established without a fight! The Lord surrounded him with mighty men of valor. These men were David’s Delta Force. They understood that God anointed David, and they also recognized that the enemies of God rose up to battle against God’s plan. They put their faith into action and fought with all their might.

The passage above tells us that Eleazar fought so long and so hard that his sword froze in his hand. He had fought with such intensity and such grit that his muscles froze up and he could not release his sword! Talk about a mighty warrior for God!

Thankfully, God has not called most of us to physical combat, but we can wield the “Sword of the Spirit” with the same intensity as Eleazar as we pray in the Spirit. We can brandish our Sword until we see broken marriages restored, prodigal children returned, sick bodies healed, devastated communities repaired. Through Christ who strengthens us, we can become “repairers of the breach’ as spoke of in Isaiah:

“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” ( Is 58: 11,12 )

Our nation, our families, our faith, are under attack from within and without and it is up to us to step up, pick up our “Sword” and fight. We know we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We know that our enemies are principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. When we engage people in contentious combat and debate, I believe it only further emboldens the enemy because we are pulled into the same vortex of hate and anger that fuels his fire.

And, as importantly, we do not capitulate to the enemy and try to appease by accepting, and therefore coming into agreement with his lies. The “Sword” we employ is the Word of God, so anything that is not founded on that TRUTH is a lie that must be exposed and defeated in the spirit by the power of the Word, the Blood and the Name of Jesus. Light dispels darkness, love dispels hate. Jesus is the TRUTH and He exposes the darkness in men’s hearts. We pray that once exposed, they would be filled with Godly sorrow that produces repentance. We pray that men, women and children would not miss their day of visitation because make no mistake – just as surely as satan is moving in our nation, the Lord Jesus is moving much more powerfully and forcefully!

Jehovah Sabaoth has put out the call. He is mobilizing HIS army. He is asking us to put aside every distraction and become one of His mighty men and women of valor. That will look differently for each one of us according to where the Lord has us planted, but there is a job for EACH ONE OF US TO DO. You may not be well known to anyone outside of your immediate circle, but YOUR name is famous in heaven because you are one that has answered HIS call! YOU are the talk of heaven as you labor in prayer!

Sisters, the time is NOW. This is a NOW word. What is stopping you from becoming the mighty warrior God is calling you to be? Is there anything distracting you? Anything discouraging you? Anything that is hindering you? Are these things greater than God?

He is waiting for us to go boldly to His Throne of Grace and lay hold of every victory He has already won for us. He wants us to meet the enemy at EVERY point of attack and stand against him in the matchless NAME OF JESUS! When we do this, God will have our backs. All the resources of heaven are offered to us. He will surround us with His mighty angels to battle with us and for us. (Hebrews 1:14, Psalm 91:11,12)

Are you ready to advance?