All Weekly Sharpening Posts

October 6, 2022

Be Strong and Fight Bravely

Welcome to the Weekly Sharpening Year 2.  It’s my desire to encourage, challenge and equip you as a man of faith in this weekly post.  I enjoy sharing my thoughts about the things God is teaching and revealing to me in His Word.  My hope is that you’ll find these emails helpful in your faith journey.  The way I see it, we are on this journey together with the goal of becoming more like Jesus.  As long as the Lord gives me things to write about, I’ll keep writing!  To check out previous posts, click HERE. 

The following verse jumped out to me recently. 

“Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”  1 Chronicles 19:13

These words were spoken by Joab, commander of Israel’s army, to his brother, Abishai, as they were about to fight the Ammonites and the Arameans simultaneously.

Spoiler alert: the Israelites win.

All of us face obstacles and challenges of one kind or another.  They can be physical, spiritual, emotional or relational.  I’m assuming that none of you are wielding swords in battle formation before a physical enemy, but that doesn’t mean life isn’t challenging.  I don’t think I have to convince anyone of that.

The most beautiful part of this verse comes in the second sentence.  The LORD will do what is good in His sight. 

According to Joab, in this moment, the role of his men is to be strong and fight bravely.

God’s role?  To do what is good in His sight.

I think the same is true for men of faith today.  We must face challenges and hardships with strength and courage, trusting God for His desired outcome.  We have a role, and God has a role.  We don’t fight alone, and we can find our strength and courage in the Lord.  There is so much freedom in living like this!

Men who have placed their faith in Jesus should be the most courageous and humble men on the planet—finding their strength in the Lord as they trust in His sovereignty.   

Men, let’s be strong and fight bravely today.

 

How are you responding to the challenges and difficulties in your life? 

Do you face them with strength and courage, trusting that the Lord will do what He desires? 

How can Joab’s words encourage you today?