From time to time I like to read the lyrics of hymns. Many of them contain rich theological truths that reveal God in ways that a text book simply can't. One of my favorites is Be Thou My Vision, an Irish hymn from the 6th century. I first heard it on a short-term mission trip in high school and didn't realize it was hymn until sometime in college. Over the years, it's been a song that I've gone back to a lot. The lyrics are full of longing and hope for the goodness and presence of God.
I've gotten the sense that 2016 wasn't a very good year for a lot of people, and overall, I'll put myself into that group. One day I found myself at work, trying to stay positive in light of everything that was going wrong, and I pulled my phone out and began to look at hymn lyrics. I pulled up Be Thou my Vision and as I read the lyrics I was hit by a "new" verse that I had never read before. Most of the versions of the hymn that I have found contain only four of the five original verses; verse three is consistently left out. This past weekend I was down with Aaron, and Sunday I attended church with his family. We sang this hymn but without verse three.
Here is verse three:
Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight;
Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O power of my power.
Reading the lyrics, I'm not surprised that it is left out of most contemporary versions. For some reason the Church, and most of modern day Christendom, doesn't like the image of God as a warrior or the language of battle. We've become passive and focused fully on peace. We omit a verse from a hymn and with it we throw out entire aspects of the reality of the character of God. We deny who God is, and with it we ignore the reality of the world we live in.
I need God to be my vision, present with me, and guiding me in life. I need God to be my wisdom and my source of truth; dwelling with me as my Father and I as His beloved son. I need God to be first in my heart, seeking Him over all else. God is the high king who wins victory and brings me into His presence. And I need God to be my battle shield and sword of the fight as I live in this world at war.
C.S. Lewis did not neglect this side of God. In Mere Christianity he identifies the world as "enemy occupied territory". In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe he says that Aslan, the Christ figure, isn't safe but he is good. The image of a warrior God, needed to fight a war against evil was not overlooked by him, nor was the reality that those who seek to follow Christ are called to join the battle. The Pevensie children engage in battle against the White Witch to free Narnia, though it is Aslan who ends the battle.
The Bible is full of imagery that calls followers of Christ to action, demanding we be ready for spiritual battle.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5.6-11)
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Timothy 2.1-4)
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. (Ephesians 6.10-17)
The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. (Exodus 15.3)
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16.13-14)
We live in a world at war. We have a real enemy that we need to be on guard against. We are made in the image of a warrior God, and we are called to be strong in His might, standing firm against the enemy. We cannot neglect the need of God as battle shield and sword.
Nearly five years ago, I was ordained as elder. During the ceremony, the General Superintendent of the church denomination put his hand on my head and quoted/paraphrased 2 Timothy 4.1-2, 5. He charged me in the name of Christ to preach the gospel, be ready in season and out of season, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, and to endure affliction as I fulfill my ministry. The phrase that stands out most distinctly to this day is "endure affliction". At the time, I felt like it primarily meant the church I was serving in, but I've come to see that it applies to my entire life.
I feel like the past several years have been one affliction after another, each one getting more difficult and intense. I've been overwhelmed and exhausted so many times, and the struggles seem like they never end. I've gotten to points where it seems like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel only to realize that it's simply a chance to take a breath before getting dunked again. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, I know that things could be much worse, but that doesn't change the fact that the struggle I'm facing is real. Life is not the simple peaceful Shire life of the hobbits, but Normandy on June 6, 1944. And yet I find myself wanting to sit in my garden while I need to be storming the beach. I want to focus on God as vision, wisdom, inheritance, and victorious king, when I need to be focusing on Him as my weapon and protection for the battle that surrounds me.
Jesus said in John 16.33, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." He said it, while you're on the earth, you will have trouble. You will face hardships and difficulties, but I want you to take courage and have peace, because I have overcome the world. You will face hardships, but I am with you as you do. I am your shield, and I am your sword. You are not defenseless, and you are not unarmed. You have what it takes. You are strong and protected, because I am with you.
I need God to be my vision, leading and guiding me through life. I need God to be my wisdom, grounding me in His truth through the compromising offers of the world. I need God to be by inheritance, validating me with the reality of His words. I need God to be my victorious King, bringing me into the peaceful rest He achieves. But until then, I need God to be my shield and my sword, protecting me and strengthening me for the attacks that the enemy launches against me.
The war is real, no matter how much we try to ignore or deny it. Ignoring it isn't being on the alert. Ignoring it isn't serving as a good solider of Christ. Ignoring it isn't standing firm in God's mighty power. Ignoring it isn't resisting the enemy. Ignoring it isn't honoring the warrior God whose image we bear. Ignoring it isn't acting like a man. Ignoring the war doesn't make it less real, it just sets me up to be a casualty.
I don't want to be a casualty of war. I don't want to drop my guard and be devoured by the enemy. And I don't want to feel sorry for myself, complaining that life is hard and asking "Why me?" I want to stand firm, enduring the affliction, and allowing God to be glorified for bringing me through the battle with scars and stories to proclaim His goodness through all of it. Life is hard, but God is with me through all of it as vision and battle shield. Victory is His, and in Him, it will be mine as well.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
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