The Battle

All I could see were their faces, their snarling painted faces leering at me. I struggled against their massive blades with my own small sword, but it was obvious to me that these beings were much stronger than I. I’d been wounded and I’d almost lost hope. They were bigger than me, stronger than me, and they seemed like they were much less willing to give up than I was. Still I fought, as well as I could.
There was turmoil all around me and the sound of the battle was so loud that I’d quit hearing it a long time ago, all I could do was flail my sword back and forth in desperation. I remembered I’d started this battle with all my friends in my vision and I’d been keeping an eye on them and watching their backs for a while, but the last had gone, maybe ages ago, and now I felt that I was the only one left on my side. But they said that the reinforcements would be here by now. It was just my luck, I’d been forgotten, my troops had been forgotten, maybe we had been sent on a suicide mission. Maybe they never intended to send reinforcements anyway.
My only goal was to take out as many of the enemy as I could before they took me out. I was exhausted and could hardly breathe. I could feel a dull aching all through my body and I knew that the only thing keeping me alive was my energy. Should I live through this fight, I knew I would not live much longer. I felt that I had sustained injuries that were too great to be mended, but I would not give up; not yet. I was not even standing anymore, my legs were too weak and injured and I fought now on my knees. I’d killed so many that I was sitting on top of them now and I no longer felt their pain, I no longer even felt human.
All hope left me, I knew I was going to die as I saw an axe blade coming toward me from my left, I knew this was the last stand so I turned to face my opponent. Suddenly from above I felt great talons gripping my shoulders and I was lifted above the reach of the axe and all the enemies’ weapons. Was I dead now? I was flying, this didn’t make any sense in my head, yet I accepted it with a strange listlessness. I looked up and I saw the greatest Eagle I’d ever seen, so massive was this creature that I began to tremble in fear; where was it taking me? Had I been rescued from that horrible battle only to be fed to some screeching eaglets? What an ignoble way to die.
“Let me down!” I cried, all at once my passion returned, but the Eagle only glanced down at me and said calmly “You really want to go back into that already?” I was stunned, how could this creature have just spoken to me? “What are you doing with me?” I asked, now truly terrified.
The Eagle responded “Come up higher little one, you’ve seen things on your level for far too long, but it’s time you knew what there is a bigger picture, it’s not all about you. Look to your battle.” I looked and I saw so few of us were left, “Will help come?” I sighed for I had long since given up that hope. “Look to that hill.” Said the Eagle, I looked and I saw a vast army; they were our reinforcements, and they too were in a battle. “So you see,” said the Eagle, “There is more going on than you thought; you thought that the reinforcements were being with-held from you out of sheer cruelty, but the truth is, they are on their way.” I was ashamed at my former bitterness toward those reinforcements, “But when? When will they get here? How many more of us have to die before help arrives?”
“You can help speed up this process.” Said the Eagle. “You have a bow, and a quiver of arrows strapped across your back still from the beginning of your fight, you can pick off the enemy from the air. You’re fully equipped to help the reinforcements.” I got out my bow and my arrows, “I’ve never been the best shot.” I said. “No, but just use one arrow for one enemy, there is a name on each arrow.” I examined the arrows and saw what the Eagle had said to be true; the arrow I held in my hand said Fear on it. “Now do you see that enemy down there that is called Fear?” Asked the Eagle. I looked and I saw the most terrifying beast I’d yet seen, the Eagle nodded, “That’s the one, now send your arrow.” I let fly and watched my arrow sail true and defeat that enemy named fear. “From now on” said the Eagle “You have a new job, stay up here where you can see from my vantage point, and together we’ll make sure that the reinforcements get here.”
We so often get caught up in our own battles that we forget how easy it is to go up higher and see things from the Lords perspective. And when we see from His perspective we are no longer holding it against Him that help hasn’t arrived yet, because we see that help is on its way, and there is something we can do to hurry it along. We have all been given a bow and an arrow, the bow is our mouth and the arrow our prayers, when we go up and see from God’s vantage point we are then able to shoot those prayers into the enemy ranks. Let’s be sharpshooters in our prayers, when you pray, picture in faith your arrow hitting its mark. And let’s not get grounded, for that is where we’ll be defeated, but when we choose to go higher, we have the upper hand.
Let the Holy Spirit lift you up on wings like an Eagle and show you His victorious vantage point.