Scripture:
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Colossians 3:23-24. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Refection:
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863 and was the turning point of the Civil War for one main reason: The confederate General Robert E. Lee planned to invade the North which would force an immediate end to the war and would divide the nation into two separate nations. The Union victory at the battle of Gettysburg put an end to that audacious plan. It swung the tide of the war in favor of the Union which would secure freedom for the southern slaves and preserve the United States as one nation.
Historians have looked at the battle of Gettysburg and found that the tipping point came on July 2nd with the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 20th Regiment had been whittled down from 300 to 80 men by 5 separate charges by the Alabama 15th and 46th Confederate Regiments. The Maine 20th ammunition had been reduced to one round per solider. Their scout saw that the Confederates were beginning to once again form rank for another charge. Their commander, a 34 year old school teacher, Joshua Chamberlain had already been knocked down in a previous charge with a bullet to his belt buckle, but rather than be captured or retreat, he decided to quickly gather his remaining 80 men and charge the enemy. Before the confederates could defend themselves, 80 Union soldiers made an improbably right wheel assault resulting in the capturing of 4000 confederates soldiers in less than 15 minutes. What seemed to be a suicide mission, historians have now come to believe as the turning point in the battle of Gettysburg, and the battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the entire war.
One man’s courage to charge forward in the face of impossible odds not only saved his soldiers, but the charge turned the tide of conflict that won the battle that helped win the war that saved the Union.
Years later Joshua Chamberlain said, “I did not have any knowledge of warfare or tactics, I was only a stubborn man and that was my greatest advantage in this fight.
Stubbornness is often seen as a character weakness. Granted that stubbornness is most often defined as the outward expression of a prideful heart. Yet there are times in our walks with God where we cannot give up. Maybe it could be said that a stubborn patience is something that God can use. This kind of Godly stubbornness is that conviction and tenacity that does not give up on the wayward child or on a friend wracked by a drug addiction. It is exactly the heart attitude that Jesus spoke of in Luke 18:2 when He said:
“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice… will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice.
God uses a widow like stubbornness to break bondages. Don’t give up. The battles are hard, but we can trust that the victory has been won in Christ Jesus.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Just like Joshua Chamberlain, retreat is not an option. Let’s make one more charge.
David
Prayer – Lord help me not give up. Please give me the strength to continue in prayer as I present to you those loved ones that are in the midst of the battle. May they be delivered from the addictions, lies and the bondage that have caused them to drift away your love and salvation. Help me to have a Godly stubbornness and not give up loving them and praying for them. Amen.
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