One of my most favorite hymns since childhood is “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Every verse of the song has had an impact on my life at one time or the other.  Recent weeks have brought me back to this song, and this verse in particular always gives me new hope:

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall NEVER call retreat,

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat,

Oh be swift my soul to answer Him, be jubliant my feet,

Our God is marching on!!

Don’t those words give a beautiful word picture? Not only is God still on His throne, but He is still actively working!  His Word is true, His goal is the same, His trumpet will NEVER call for retreat, and He is marching on.  Never mind what the news channels, the internet, social media, and any other negative reporting says.  Never mind how we feel on any given day about the state of affairs, it is still the truth.  And never mind how often we want to pick up our trumpets, and white flags, and give up….He doesn’t!  Because He knows the end of the story, He is never shaken by the events of today, or next week, or even next month.  He is continually calling His people to battle, and He will until He returns for His church.

Even more important, He KNOWS the hearts of everyone.  That’s what “sifting out the hearts of men” means.  Notice where the sifting is happening, too.  Not at the mercy seat, but at the judgement seat.  In other words, He will have the final say, and He will repay every injustice in His time.  This gives me great comfort as well.  In the heat of a battle I may involved in, I get frustrated.  I can’t know what my enemy is doing or planning, and that causes anxiety.  I can guess, and maybe even have a pretty good idea of their schemes and their goals, but I do not know how well they are prepared, or what the outcome will be.  That is uncomfortable.  It forces me to be humble and dependent on God which is hard for me (and a lot of others) and rest in Him.  And yet!  He is confident, testing my opponents, judging their actions, and preparing HIS battle plan.  All I have to do is trust Him and believe that He has it in His very capable hands.

But is that a passive state?  Absolutely not!  “Oh be swift my soul to answer, oh be jubilant my feet!”  Does that sound relaxing?  Again, no.  It implies this:  We should be always looking for God’s work.  We should always be aware of the spiritual battles around us, and asking God where He wants/needs us to help.  Then once we find that, we should be SWIFT to answer.  And jubiliant!!  In other words, we should be living in this world, but always with an attitude of it being JUST this world.  We are citizens of a different world altogether. As those citizens, we need to be involved in reading God’s Word, worshipping, praying, meditating, and then putting on our shoes!  We should not face new days and new challenges with a sense of dread or fear.  Allowing the “duty” attitude to come into our thoughts about our ministry will KILL our jubilance.  Allowing God to show us what HE can accomplish will set our feet to dancing and our spirits to rejoicing.  We will become effective workers in HIs Kingdom, and will participate in the greatest work ever known.  After all, the first verse of this song says this,

“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,

He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword, His truth is marching on.”

That is a vivid statement of God’s take on this world, and on all that needs to be accomplished by His children.  We are to work and minister and share His gospel, and continue on until He tells us to stop or we go to be with Him. Then one day He will come in His glory, trampling out grapes of wrath, with lightning and His sword!  That is a God worthy of worship and praise, and lives filled with honoring Him.  It is also a God that we can be confident in and allow Him to use us in HIS plan, and not the other way around.

The point of all this?  Just this.  We are here in this time for a PURPOSE.  We have work to do.  We cannot give up and let the enemy rejoice that we have withdrawn from the battle.  We need to approach every new day He gives us with this thought:

GLORY, glory hallelujah.  Glory, GLORY hallelujah.  Glory, glory HALLELUJAH!  Our GOD is marching on!  Amen!