When Shammah made his stand in the middle of that pea patch, he was not hanging around just to get a few licks in before making an exit. For Shammah there were only two options: win or die!
He stood his ground, he defended that pea patch, and 2 Samuel 23:12 tells us about the happy ending: “The Lord wrought a great victory.”
We all want to discover God’s will for our lives, but once we discover it, that is not the end; it is only the beginning! Once you have your assignment from God, then you have to stand in your field and fight until God gives the victory. This requires a quality that few seem to possess—perseverance.
In Ephesians 6 we are commanded to “put on the whole armor of God” (v. 11). But verses 13 and 14 say something important: “And having done all, to stand. Stand therefore.” In other words, after you have made all the preparation to stand, now there is one thing left to do—stand! This is where many people miss it. They go to great lengths to discover God’s will for their lives. They go to Bible college; they read books; they receive prophetic words; they prepare themselves in every way possible. But when their skin begins to burn with the heat of the battle, they drop their weapons and retreat. I am aware that this is not a “feel-good” message.
We are always looking for shortcuts, tips and tricks, but I’m afraid there is no way around this principle. You can be extraordinarily gifted, talented, anointed and blessed, but without persistence you will have little impact because the great victories are always on the other side of great battles. The word persevere is made of the prefix per, which means “through” and severe. Victory comes to those who press through severe battles to the other side without quitting.
R. Alec Mackenzie, who wrote extensively on the subject of time management, said, “The ability to concentrate—to persevere on a course without distraction or diversion—is a power that has enabled men of moderate capability to reach heights of attainment that have eluded the genius. They have no secret formula other than to persevere.”
Helen Hayes won many prestigious awards during her acting career, which spanned nearly 70 years. But she attributed her success not to talent or ability: “Nothing is any good without endurance.” Chemist Louis Pasteur, who developed the disease preventing process that came to be called pasteurization, said, “My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”
Apparently Shammah was not the only one of David’s mighty men who knew what it meant to be persistent. The Bible says Eleazar fought so long and so hard in one battle that his hand froze to the sword (2 Sam. 23:10). When it comes to fulfilling God’s will for your life, perseverance is not an option; it is an imperative. If Eleazar or Shammah would have let go of their swords or stopped fighting, the enemy would have killed them. If you let go of God’s calling, you will never fulfill it.
What do you do when the going gets tough? Stand firm and don’t let go! What do you do when the enemy begins to assail from all directions? Stand firm and don’t let go! What do you do when you face financial difficulty, health problems, betrayal, abandonment, rejection and pain? Stand firm and don’t let go! My friend, the battle belongs to the Lord, and He will win it in His time. Our part is not to question; our part is to obey and stand firm until God gives the victory.
May we stand in our respective fields as David’s mighty men did, prepared to fight to the death for God’s kingdom. And when the day comes for us to leave this world, I pray that the sword will have to be pried out of our lifeless fingers. At the end may we not be found sitting in front of a television, but may we be found with our boots strapped on in the field where God has assigned us. Never give up! Never retreat! Never surrender to the enemy! Your fulfillment of God’s will for your life is not only about you. It’s about your children and your grandchildren and the future of God’s eternal kingdom. So stand! Fight! And endure until the end. And God will give you the victory in Jesus’ name! {eoa}
Daniel Kolenda is an evangelist and the president and CEO of Christ for all Nations (CfaN), the worldwide ministry of evangelist Reinhard Bonnke.
