A few weeks ago at work a few of us were sitting around killing time before work, and somehow we got on the subject of a video where a young buffalo is being chased by wolves, and then an older buffalo comes and plows through the young buffalo to save itself. It seems to be the animal version of two people running from a bear and one guy shooting the other in the leg in order to save himself. I did a YouTube search for the video, but instead of finding that one, I found one that described how wolves hunt buffalo.
The video pointed out that for the wolves to be successful they have to attack from behind, and that the buffalo know if they stand and face the wolves they have the advantage. Though standoffs sometimes last for days, the buffalo eventually lose their nerve, run for it, and give the advantage to the wolves. Wolves are scary, but buffalo are big. No wolf will ever attack a buffalo head on, and all the buffalo has to do is stand firm, holding its ground, and the wolves are powerless. This strategy requires nerve and patience, courage and discipline, but it is successful.
One of the biggest issues facing the millennial generation is our desire for instant gratification. We live in a world of Amazon Prime (I have a prime account), Netflix, YouTube, pre-broken in and worn out clothing, we don't have to wait for a lot of things, but the things we don't have to wait for aren't things that really matter. The mindset of instant gratification has a negative impact on the rest of our lives. We get frustrated when we don't see instant progress or rewards for our work. Taking it to the Spiritual realm, when we don't get an immediate answer to prayer we give up. We see the wolves, figure if we stand up to them they'll immediately back down, and when they don't we turn and run and get picked off. The thing is, the wolves have learned patience, it's how they survive.
I've been wrestling with this idea for years now, but for the first time have really been able to identify the root issue, and it all comes down to not wanting to wait, and when the answer isn't immediate, I get discouraged, frustrated, and then start blaming various things for why I'm where I am in life. It all comes down to the fact that I didn't hold my ground. I saw the wolves, stared at them, but they didn't run, and when they didn't I decided I had better move, but wolves are fast.
Years ago in college Aaron and I used to watch this show called Deadliest Warrior. They would take two warriors who had never met, compare their weapons, tactics, and training, and then simulate a fight with the data to see who would win. This was when I started to learn about the Spartans (who were undefeated on the show). The movie 300 is horribly historically inaccurate, but there is one scene that really stands out to me. On the eve of what will be the last stand of Leonidas and his warriors at Thermopylae, he speaks to his men with these words, "No retreat, no surrender, that is Spartan law; and by Spartan law we will stand and fight, and die." When a Spartan warrior received his shield, it came with the words, "Return with your shield, or on it." For the Spartans, there was no retreat and no surrender. They either returned from war victorious, or they died on the battlefield. The ultimate honor for a Spartan man was to die in the defense of Sparta. They stood firm, shields overlapped, facing the enemy, and they were an unstoppable force.
That is how I want to live my life. No retreat, no surrender. Stand firm and hold your ground.
1 Corinthians 16.13, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong."
Ephesians 6.10-17, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Philippians 4.1, "Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved."
God calls us to patiently trust Him, standing firm in our faith in Him, and believing that He will act, guiding us into things far beyond anything we could ever think or imagine (Ephesians 3.20-21). Sometimes it takes Him a while to act. In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge says:
"Then the Lord intervened" is perhaps the single most common phrase about him in Scripture, in one form or another. Look at the stories he writes. There's the one where the children of Israel are pinned against the Red Sea, no way out, with Pharaoh and his army barreling down on them in murderous fury. Then God shows up. There's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who get rescued only after they're thrown into the fiery furnace. Then God shows up. He lets the mob kill Jesus, bury him ... then he shows up. Do you know why God loves writing such incredible stories? Because he loves to come through. He loves to show us he has what it takes. Against Goliath, a seasoned solider and a trained killer, he sends ... a freckle-faced little shepherd kid with a slingshot. Most commanders going into battle want as many infantry as they can get. God cuts Gideon's army from thirty-two thousand to three hundred. Then he equips the ragtag little band that's left with torches and watering pots. It's not just a battle or two that God takes his chances with, either. Have you thought about his handling of the gospel? God needs to get a message out to the human race, without which they will perish ... forever. What's the plan? First, he starts with the most unlikely group ever: a couple of prostitutes, a few fisherman with no better than a second grade education, a tax collector. Then, he passes the ball to us. Unbelievable. (p. 32-3, 2011)
People say God will never give you more than you can handle, which isn't right. When they say this they are referring to the Bible saying that God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, and that when you face temptation He will give you a way out (1 Corinthians 10.13). God will not let you face anything He cannot handle. The Bible says over and over to stand firm in the Lord, in our faith in Him. No retreat, no surrender, that is the law of faith in God.
God does not change, He will come through, but it may be after a standoff that lasts days and days. If we run, we get picked off, but if we stand firm in God, the wolves can't touch us. James 4.7 says, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." When we trust God, Satan will flee. He isn't afraid of us, and history has shown that man is weak and will cave under enough pressure, so he will be patient and wait. But when we stand firm in God, he will eventually flee.
What are you standing firm for? You marriage? Your kids? A ministry? A God given dream? What wolves are staring you down? If you give up and run, that's it, but if you stand firm, the enemy will eventually flee. If we would embrace all of the promises of God, we have to lose the mindset of instant gratification, and be willing to engage in a stand off, refusing to give up, refusing to back down, refusing to run.
I feel like I have to add that things may not always work out as we think, after all, there are things we fight for that depend on the freewill of others, but what they do is not up to us, and we are not responsible for their actions or choices. We are only responsible for us, and if we stand firm in God, He will do abundantly more than anything we would ever think or ask for.
No retreat. No surrender. Stand and fight, and die. Hold your ground.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Solid post, Will! Powerful.
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