Are You Drawing Your Sword?

John 16:33 - I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]. Amplified Bible

If you have a red letter edition of the Bible, most of this chapter is red. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. He meant them, and I believe he meant for us to take them seriously. When Jesus would teach and His words seemed to be scary, most of the time, He followed it up with words of comfort. In this chapter, He was speaking specifically about His leaving and the Holy Spirit coming. I’m sure the disciples were not only confused, but scared. Jesus was telling them, even though He was leaving, He was the victor over anything the world would throw at them. 

Jesus tells His disciples to “be undaunted.” Living an undaunted life means to spit in the face of adversity, to rise above roadblocks, and to look beyond the problem to the solution. Do we live like that? Mostly, I feel my life has been lived daunted, with nary a trace of the “un.” I frequently let circumstances dictate how I feel and how I respond. I sometimes get defeated when the enemy whispers in my ear. I frequently get tired. How about you?  But, if we fully embrace the undaunted life, accepting the courageous, bravely marching toward our goal, the arrows of the enemy glancing off our armor, we are truly trusting God with both our lives and our paths. Our paths aren’t always clear. In fact, most of the time, they’re pretty obscure. And sometimes almost impassible. But a few good licks from our swords can cut down the lies of the enemy and when the path opens up before us, it’s a beautiful moment between us and God.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan admonished Peter to always clean his sword after a battle. I’ve always wondered about that because it seemed like a rather random one-liner  .  But if we take that line and view it in light of the above verse, faith becomes the whetstone on which we sharpen our blades. And when we defeat the enemy, it’s the polishing cleaner to ready the blade for use in the future. If our blades are at the ready, we can live undaunted lives, faces towards the sun (or Son), ready for battle and ready to walk any path that’s set before us. We are truly undaunted, courageous, and mighty warriors. 

Anyone can wield a sword. It takes no expertise to pick up any old sword and start hacking. But learning how to use it properly in battle takes time, faith and finesse. It takes study. It takes practice. It takes application. I remember when I was a young whippersnapper at Temple Baptist Church back in the day. One thing we frequently did when we were in Sunday School was have “Sword drills.” We picked up our Bibles, the teacher called out a random chapter and verse, and the first one to find it was given a point. After you got enough points, you were given a star by your name. in my mind’s eye, I can still see those little stars lined up after my name. My competitive little self always wanted to win because I loved seeing those stars! Even though I am no longer a member of that church, I am so grateful for this lesson because it trained me to be proficient with my Sword. It taught us how to draw our Swords, hold our Swords, use our Swords, and make ready our Swords for the next use. It was a prep school for Life. 

I can no longer move my body as speedily as I once did. My Sword arm gets tired more easily, and occasionally I have to ask myself, “Wait...does Titus come before or after Philemon?” But my heart and mind are NOT rusty. They are sharp, honed, at the ready, for the battle cry.  And even though I feel daunted, I AM NOT! Even if it seems like I get discouraged, I CANNOT!  Even if i get tired, I STOP NOT! Why? Because I WILL NOT GIVE UP MY POSITION OF   VICTORY! And neither should you! Dust off your Sword. Pick it up, even if it feels heavy. Read it. Meditate on it. Mull it over. Pray over it. Act on it. And finally, polish it, so it will always be ready to draw...and defeat.

Even though the enemy tries to crush you, do not relinquish your sword! It’s standing between you and disaster!