Fearful or Fortified?

“RUN!! RUN!!” The men screamed as their enemies pursued.

If you were on the sidelines watching this play out like a movie before you...what kind of men do you think these were? What were important to these men who were being chased? What had they spent their lives doing and investing in and becoming?

Unbelievably. These men were trained warriors.

Psalms 78:9 “The warriors of Ephraim, though fully armed, turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came...”

All their lives these men had been trained for this day. And they miserably failed. Completely failed. Mortally failed.

Why?

As we read before and after in that chapter, there is a theme. They had a heart attack. Not literally...but you see what their problem was by their response. They were afraid. They were cowards. Though they had learned the mechanics of warfare, though they had all the armor they needed, they lacked the heart.

They had a heart attack because of fear.

They didn’t remember the good things God had done for them. They were “stubborn, rebellious, unfaithful and refusing to give their hearts to God.” Ps. 78:8

Fear drove them to a response opposite of what they’d been trained for. Fear stemming from not remembering, not seeing and not believing who God was and wanted to be for them.

God had promised to be their FORTIFIER. God had promised to be their VICTOR. God had promised to be their DEFENDER. It just required what they were unwilling to give...complete surrender. Complete surrender yields a heart of faith...which results in trusting the only ONE who is our VICTOR!

Today, rather than running...as believers, let’s remember in the day of battle, today, that we are fortified in Him. He fights for us as we hide in him. We rest in faith and fear vanishes as we look to our VICTOR. Let’s take our place and stand firm today knowing that He fights for us in ways we can’t even fathom!!