Even When Others Leave you Behind

2nd Sam 23:11,12 11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel's troops fled from them. 12 But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory

Yesterday we discussed adrenaline and how once this 'fight-or-flight' hormone floods your system you normally do one or the other. Shammah stood his ground to fight and everyone else (yes, the entire Israelite army) fled like cowards. Not only did Shammah's fellow soldiers fail the mission (nationally), but they also failed him (personally). As soldiers they were supposed to be completely committed to the mission and to one another. They left Shammah behind and quite frankly, they left him to die.

Humanly speaking, there was no way possible that Shammah should have survived that battle that day. There are times when the odds are against you, but 1 vs. an entire army is as close to impossible as you can get. But sure enough, they still left him behind.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in a situation where others claimed their allegiance to you, only to leave you when you needed them the most? Have you ever been in a covenant with someone that swore to be with you through thick and thin, only to be dropped at the first sign of 'thick'?

The sad reality is that many of us - no, more like most of us - have experienced the sting of being stranded by someone who claimed to be there for us. I am not sure how Shammah felt as he watched his combat-tested brethren flee all around him. Maybe he was thinking? "What are these guys doing? They know that we are supposed to protect this field." If he was thinking that then he would only be focusing in on the fact that they deserted the mission. However, he might have been thinking, "Hey, what are these guys doing? Don't they see me back here? They know we are supposed to fight and I am here fighting. They are never supposed to leave a comrade behind."

If Shammah was thinking that way then his feelings would have been much more personal. It is one thing to desert the mission, but quite something else to desert a person. But no matter what they were thinking, the reality is that they left and they left him all alone.

We will all face challenges and that life in Christ is not promised to be a perpetual picnic. So by now you should be aware of the fact that you will have to face your share of challenges in your walk with Christ. The point of this lesson is to bring out the fact that there will be times when you have to face those challenges all alone. Now, when I say "all alone" I mean: without the assistance of other humans. As we see in the text, Shammah was not all alone because God was with Him; and we serve a God who will never leave us nor forsake us. But from a human standpoint you can rest assured that they were be times - especially when the going gets rough - that you will have to face challenges without the assistance of others; even those who vowed to be there for you "no matter what!"

So what does this mean to you? It means that while some folk may be fickle, phony, or even flat-out fake, God is always faithful. Believe me, I don't want to put a bad taste in your mouth towards others, because God wants us to have rewarding and fulfilling relationships, but ultimately you must maintain your trust in God! Even when others leave, God is still there!

Father, I thank You for helping me to develop a Warrior Spirit and this Spirit enables me to stay fixed and focused, even when others leave me and forsake me. I know that You will always be there for me, so my confidence is in You! Even when I am deserted and even betrayed by others, I will not allow my disappointment to cause me to lose focus from the task set before me. When the pressure is on I remain ready to fight and I keep my 'faith switch' in the ON position. I refuse to allow the decisions of others to derail me from my destiny. I am still here, I am still ready to fight, I am still in position, I release myself to You Father to be used of You for Your glory! Like Shammah, I won't let anything keep me from Your best! In Jesus' name. Amen!