What to talk about

One of the things my mission president preached over and over was this: the Lord will fight your battles for you. By saying this he was by no means suggesting that the Lord will fight while we sit and watch, but rather that He is the power by which we are able to move forward with faith in seemingly overwhelming situations and responsibilities.

Let me illustrate what he meant with the story of Gideon in Judges, chapters 6-7 . . .

In the book of Judges, the children of Israel experienced several cycles of righteousness and apostasy. Offsetting the tragic parts of this history are stories of people who remained true and set powerful examples of how to exercise faith and courage as the Lord called them to deliver His people from earthly oppression and spiritual bondage. In chapter 6, the Israelites found themselves invaded by the Midianites, a massive nomadic tribe from southeastern Palestine that stripped the land of everything that could sustain life. So impoverished and desperate were the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent an angel to a young man named Gideon.

Judges 6:12, 14 . . . And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour . . . Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.

Needless to say, Gideon wasn’t convinced. He did not think himself to be a mighty warrior and the task seemed more than unbelievable so he asked the angel for proof. Twice. And for some reason I’ve always found comfort in the fact that the Lord was patient with Gideon’s hesitation. I hope He’s that patient with me.

Judges 6:37-40 . . . Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Exercising faith in his calling, Gideon mustered up an army of 32,000 men from throughout Israel. But the Lord had other plans. He was concerned that when the battle was won, the Israelites would think that they, not the Lord, had gained the victory.

Judges 7:2 . . . And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

What followed was a reduction of Gideon’s force until it numbered a shockingly small 300.

Judges 7:3-7 . . . Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there . . . So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand.

Still exercising a particle of faith, Gideon organized his 300 men into three groups. Acting on inspiration from the Lord, he equipped each man with a trumpet and a clay pottery jar with a burning lamp inside. He told them to take positions on the hillside above the Midianites and at his signal to blow their horns and break their jars.

Judges 7:19-21 . . . So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

Believing that they were under attack from thousands of Israelites, the Midianites, in their confusion and terror, began killing each other. They fled in disarray while Gideon’s small army stood and watched. Thus the Lord vanquished Israel’s enemies without a single Israelite casualty.

So again I state my mission president’s mantra: the Lord will fight your battles for you.

I wonder how often do we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, inexperienced, and even fearful. How often does the Lord call us to accomplish a task or face a challenge that appears to be beyond our abilities? Often. Life holds periods of serenity and periods of adversity. Comfort can give way to distress. Good health can give way to illness. Peace can give way to war. Prosperity can give way to misfortune. But the Lord has promised to fight our battles for us if we but exercise Gideon-like faith.

During the recent sessions of General Conference, I was particularly touched by a talk given by Elder Kevin W. Pearson, of the Seventy. In fact, we skipped back and watched it twice. (You gotta love DVR.) He counseled that life should be lived by faith and not by fear. He said, “True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. [It] is a principle of action and of power. It requires us to do, not merely to believe. There is no other thing in which we can have absolute assurance. There is no other foundation in life that can bring the same peace, joy, and hope. In uncertain and difficult times, faith is truly a spiritual gift worthy of our utmost efforts.”

Elder Pearson further explained that faith and fear cannot coexist, and that we are responsible to choose between the two. Satan influences this decision only in part. Our own personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits inhibit our ability to be faithful. And in that regard he says we are completely responsible for our fear. And he’s right. Elder Pearson further elaborated on six specific influential tendencies over which we have complete control.

Doubt (1) “Doubt is not a principle of the gospel. It does not come from the Light of Christ or the influence of the Holy Ghost. Doubt is a negative emotion related to fear. It comes from a lack of confidence in one’s self or abilities. It is inconsistent with our divine identity as children of God.”

Discouragement (2) “Discouragement comes from missed expectations. Chronic discouragement leads to lower expectations, decreased effort, weakened desire, and greater difficulty feeling and following the Spirit. Discouragement and despair are the very antithesis of faith.”

Distraction (3) “Distraction eliminates the very focus the eye of faith requires. [It is one of] Satan’s most effective tools, but [it is] also a bad habit.”

Lack of diligence (4) “A lack of diligence [is] a reduced commitment to remain true and faithful and to carry on through despite hardship and disappointment. Disappointment is an inevitable part of life, but it need not lead to doubt, discouragement, distraction, or lack of diligence.”

Disobedience (5) “If not reversed, this path ultimately leads to disobedience, which undermines the very basis of faith. So often the result is disbelief, the conscious or unconscious refusal to believe.”

Disbelief (6) “The scriptures describe disbelief as the state of having chosen to hard one’s heart. It is to be past feeling.”

These six tendencies all erode and destroy faith. But we have the ability to avoid and overcome them. And in doing so we’re creating an opportunity for the Lord to help us. I wonder how many times I’ve found myself face to face with a trial and have chosen to act on the feelings of fear rather than on the power of faith. Probably more times than I want to remember or admit. I guess I need to ask myself, how do I change that pattern? How do I better resolve to remember that the Lord loves me enough to fight for me? How do I become more like Gideon in my faith? David may have said it best in Psalms.

Psalm 27:1 . . . The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom [or what] shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom [or what] shall I be afraid?

In his General Conference talk, Elder Holland said it this way: “One of the greatest consolations . . . is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey. We will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.”

Again and again I reiterate: the Lord will fight your battles for you. Obviously my mission president was onto something because his words have stayed with me through the years. Perhaps these thoughts are something I could share from the pulpit tomorrow? I guess we’ll see where the Spirit ultimately takes me. In the meantime, I figure I should get going on my Primary lesson. I get to teach about the Word of Wisdom to a group of 5-year-olds. Should be fun.