In 1863 the Civil War was balanced on the edge of a blade, the Union was tired of losing battles and the Confederates felt that one more winning battle would turn the tide of the war in their favor. They could show the union that their cause was just and they were a separate entity from the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln knew that public opinion was not going in his favor and soon he wouldn't be able to get the industrial support or man power he would need to keep fighting. With the fate of the war hanging in the balance enter the Battle of Gettysburg, the battle with the greatest death toll of a day of battle. On Little Round Top the union soldiers held the line and repelled charge after charge. After days of fighting they had run out of ammunition and faced the only option left to them, a bayonet charge against an innumerable foe, but they knew what was at stake and they dare not back down or retreat. So they stood firm, fixed their bayonets and waited for the command to charge. With courage in their hearts they took that first step forward, not knowing how many would survive that fateful charge or if it would make any difference...*
We are in such a day as that, often as we say, hind sight is twenty/twenty, we don't always see the big picture, we don't see the fateful days in the moment. Those men defending that hill top didn't know how their story would end, but they stood firm and in doing so they won a battle that turned the tide of the war and united the country once more. We are in fateful days, the fate of the war against sin may not hang in the balance, we already know who will win, we know that the Savior will come again to reign on the earth, to bring peace and love to mankind. Though the overall outcome of this battle might already be decided, the individual fate of each of us has not. We have a work to do, but if we do not stand firm we will be neutralized, we will miss opportunities to help other of God's children win the fight and live with Him again.
Be a strong link in the generations, be one who stands up for Christ, who cares so much more for what the Spirit teaches than fleeting fads that are here today and gone tomorrow. Stand firm in the face of opposition, stand firm when the world may mock and deride. Stand firm in the knowledge that our Savior will come again and He comes quickly. He is not delaying the day of His coming and the world knows that His coming is nigh. The upheaval we see in nature all around us, is a call from Mother Earth saying that Her Savior is coming, never to leave again and is a call to human hearts to let the things of this world go and to put love of neighbor and love of God first. I invite you to stand firm this week by taking time to commune with the Spirit and ask Him what you can do to stand up and stand out. Ask Him how you can be a disciple of Jesus Christ in small and simple ways that can change your life and the lives of others.
We may not stand on a physical hilltop with bayonet in hand, but we do stand on a spiritual hill top and the battle is coming to us, we are besieged on every side, hold the ground, know the battle is not only worth fighting for\, but it is also worth winning. Find your Savior in the trenches and know He is fighting for you and with you. He is not a back field commander, transmitting instructions to the front not knowing what is there, He is a commander who sees the whole fight and sees the trenches, trust Him, He desires all of us to win the fight. What He asks may seem mundane or seem crazy, hear and heed regardless, it is His plan that will see us through.
These are days never to be forgotten, may we fight the fight, may we stand up, stand out and stand firm and may we not be neutralized in a fight for our very souls. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
*http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history/videos/chamberlain-defends-little-round-top
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