The Loneliness Of The Battle

By Allen Domelle, Old Paths Journal

1 Samuel 17:45

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

Battles are never easy for the believer to endure, but they are a part of the believer’s walk. You can’t do something for God without Satan trying to stop you. You can be assured that when you become active in the spiritual warfare that Satan will unleash all of his weapons against you. Whether or not you like it, you are in a spiritual battle. However, one of the hardest things about the battle is the loneliness of the battle. Three battles come to mind when I think about the loneliness of the battle.

The first battle is found in the verse above when David faced Goliath. David was the only one who was willing to stand up against the Philistine champion whose stature and weaponry made the average person flee. However, David wasn’t the average person. David didn’t let the threats and the display of Goliath’s weaponry stop him, but he went alone to face Goliath when the rest of the army was hiding in their tents. I’m sure it must have been lonely for David to face Goliath, but spiritual battles are often fought alone.

The second battle I think of is Elijah and the four hundred prophets of Baal. Elijah was the only prophet of God who stood up against these false prophets, but that didn’t stop him from fighting the battle.

The third battle I think about is when the three Hebrew children stood up against the threats of Nebuchadnezzar. The rest of the Hebrews were bowing down to the golden image when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood alone and faced the fiery furnace. I’m sure it was not exciting to face these battles, but they bravely fought these battles and won.

Three lessons can be learned from these stories. First, you will often be in the minority when you stand for right. If you need the crowd and the majority to fight the LORD’s battles, you will never be a part of the battle. Too many people are looking for others to fight with them, but God never called you to fight with others; He called you to fight for truth, and truth will often be fought alone.

Second, you will often be forsaken by those who should be standing with you when you enter the LORD’s battle. Many of those who call themselves a friend will be nowhere when the biggest battles come your way. When this happens, you must not let that discourage you from doing right. Doing right has never been a popularity contest, but doing right is done to please the LORD and often results in “friends” forsaking you. I’m cautioning you not to put your trust in your friends to stand with you when your battles come, because if you do, you will be highly disappointed.

Third, though you are alone and lonely in the battle, you are not alone. David said that he came to Goliath in the “name of the LORD of hosts.” My friend, you are not alone when you are on the LORD’s side. The Scriptures remind us in 2 Kings 6:16, “…they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Let me remind you, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) You may feel alone in the battle, but you are never alone. If you plug your ears to the enemy’s threats and not look at their display of weaponry, you will see that you have more with you than they have with them.

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