Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Revelation 2:10
As we were flying into Haiti for a missions trip a couple years ago, we flew past an abandoned castle known as the Citadel, built by the king of Northern Haiti Henry Christophe, many years before. After Haiti won its independence from France, Napoleon sent word by one of his officers that unless Christophe surrendered Haiti back to France, he would invade Haiti and destroy the king and his army. In response, Christophe called two hundred of his soldiers to attention on the top of the Citadel and lined them up two-by-two. He then gave them the order to march off the highest peak of the Citadel. Though they knew it meant certain death, they never questioned the command of their leader. They began to march, and, two-by-two, they plunged to their deaths until the king gave the command to halt. When Napoleon’s officer returned to him with the report, Napoleon said, “Any army that disciplined would never fall.” The French never returned to retake Haiti.
Imagine what could be accomplished through the army of God if they displayed such loyalty to their Commander. God has clearly laid out His commands in the Bible, yet few people are willing to completely obey Him. No doubt, there would have been an absolute destruction of Haiti and its army by Napoleon if those soldiers had paused to question the command of their king. How much more willing should we be to follow God, who has nothing but our best interest at heart? Though God has promised blessings and protection to any Christian who will give his all to Christ and follow Him anywhere He leads, many choose to disregard the call of God and choose, instead to live for themselves.
Our enemy has no problem defeating an army that will not whole-heartedly follow its Commander. Instead of taking the Bible literally and following it, each person tries to interpret what they think God “meant” so they can continue living the way they want to. It is time for Christians to start being loyal to their Commander. They need to stop questioning His commands and just follow Him unquestioningly. Those whom God is calling into the ministry need to answer the call. If we can accomplish those simple things, then the army of God can once again be an effective force against the powers of darkness.
Read also: Revelation 2:8-11
Quote of the day: "When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most rewarding.”