Not Even Named

There’s a pivotal moment in some action films that never fails to make my heart rate rise.

You’ll probably recognise the scene. There’s a massive fight on, and two or more allies meet up in the middle of the battle. They take stock of their surroundings - while battling off the occasional bad guy - and they update each other on important things in a brief manner. And then, without fail, they turn outward, back to back, slaying enemies from all sides, defending one another. Be still my beating heart, right?

In moments, hey, even years, of intense stress, it’s easy and very natural to protect yourself. Our instinct is fight or flight right? But the problem is that you can only really face what you see, so part of the skill in battle is being able to be aware of all your sides. When fighting, our most vulnerable part is our back.

So what happens in those moments when you’re honing in on a dragon? What happens when it’s taking all your concentration and discipline to defeat that which is in front of you? How do you make sure your back is safe?

That’s when your sidekick literally kicks in.

There’s an incredible story of bravery in the Bible where Jonathan, the prince of Israel, is tired of living under the hand of his enemy the Philistines. So he takes his armor bearer to go take a look at one of the Philistine outposts. After being spotted by the outpost at the top of a hill, he is told to climb the hill to be taught a lesson. Jonathan makes his way up, on his hands and feet, pulling down Philistines as his armor bearer follows behind killing the soldiers as they fall. Because of this incredible act of bravery, panic sets into the Philistine army and the whole army of Israel joins in, and they win a great battle.

To add more complexity, according to the chapter before this one, only Jonathan and his father the king had a sword and spear. Everyone else is charging around with some sort of farm equipment or blunt object.

Can you imagine being the armor bearer climbing that hill behind Jonathan knowing that? Knowing that even if you get to the top of that hill, there is a whole army waiting for you both with shiny stabby things while you carry none of your own?

But he followed anyway.

Can you imagine being part of the army of Israel, watching a battle kick off, and having to charge into battle with a rake?

But they did it anyway.

Having someone who will have your back when you’re fighting a great battle is priceless. Having an army willing to follow behind with whatever utensils they can put their hands on is a downright tear-jerker.

I want to encourage you today to search out those who have your back, come what may. In my life, I’ve found these people to be the ones who I may have initially overlooked but who are the first to arrive with magazines, chocolate, and a whole lot of love when I’m at my bleakest. They’re the ones taking time out of a busy schedule to sit with you when you need company and cry with you when crap has hit the fan. If you’re heading into a battle they’ll be the ones following behind, watching your back, helping you kill the things you pull down from the high places.

But may I encourage you even more to be the armor bearer, to be the person in someone’s life who provides safety from behind while they face the demons ahead. It’s gonna require sacrifice and bravery, and a lot of humility. Jonathan’s armor bearer is not even named, but he’s my absolute most favorite character in the Bible. He encouraged, he followed, he killed the enemies that fell. Be that for someone.

It may be just what is needed to win the bigger battle that we are all facing together.