On the field of battle

Waisea Vuniwa

Life on Planet Earth has been described in many ways. It is likened to a yoyo with its ups and downs. Shakespeare said life is like a "player who struts and frets his hour on the stage and then is heard no more; a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." Life is dismissed by some as just a journey to death. But Ellen White says life is a battle and a march-and I find this most fitting as a Christian living on the end-time stage of earth's history.

We are fighting many types of battles and challenges each day, at the same time as we are marching toward our Promised Land. We see global issues that affect all of us in different ways. Headlines like economic recessions and flu pandemics impact every community, home and individual, and affect the church and its operations. In addition to these, the church in every nation of the world has its own struggles and challenges to face.

As I write this article, I know people who are battling terminal illness, families battling to place food on the table, individuals battling to hold onto their jobs or to find one, spouses battling to keep their marriage while some are battling to cope with the trauma of divorce.

Similarly, the church in the Pacific island nations of the Trans-Pacific region, with which I am most familiar, faces its own battles. They include personal and collective spiritual battles, financial challenges, elements that threaten the unity of the church, cultural challenges, political instability, rising sea levels, migration and more. In this life, the battles and challenges seem endless-they just come in different forms and sizes.

As Christians, we can at times be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the battles we fight. Like Israel faced by the Philistine army and their champion, Goliath, in the Elah Valley (see 1 Samuel 17), we too can be terrified by the size of the giants challenging us. We see the visible-the giant, his size, the size of his sword, spear, javelin and shield-and are terrified.

But it is in this battlefield situation that God calls and encourages His people to "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10, NIV). The God who calls His people to be still is He who created all, owns all that He created and has authority over His creation as He sits in the throne room of the universe (see Psalm 47:6-8).

The call to be still in the midst of our battles is really a call to adjust our focus. As humans, we are accustomed to focusing on the visible things of life and doing things based on our human perspective. In every battle we face, God wants us to focus on the invisible-on Him who sits on the throne-and know that He is the God we can trust.

Youthful David appeared on the battle scene at Elah Valley and was furious because no Israelite- including his older brothers and all the trained soldiers of King Saul-had the courage to challenge Goliath. The Bible says they were all terrified.

But they were terrified because their focus was on the visible Goliath. David saw the battle scene differently. He saw the army of Israel as the army of the living God-the God who had saved him from lions and bears and who would save Him from the Philistine giant. David's focus was on the invisible God-not the visible Goliath. He saw the giant and the Philistine army through the lens that focuses on the Big God, who is all powerful and all conquering. David's focus reduced the size of the giant, the enemy and the challenge, and gave him the courage and faith to meet the giant head on.

David still had his part to play on the field of battle. He used the simple weapons he was accustomed to-his shepherd's rod, bag, sling and stones. He walked to the brook to pick up five smooth stones and walked toward Goliath. David won the battle by using the simple means available and by trusting in the name of the Lord Almighty.

Like David, we can win our battles if we learn to be still and know that He is God on the throne-then step forward in the confidence this knowledge gives us.

Waisea Vuniwa is the president of the Adventist Church in the Trans-Pacific region.

This has been an editorial from Record, June 13, 2009

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