day no. 16,160: first in, last out, and laughing loud

1 Chronicles 19:13

Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.

Courage is faith incarnate. It takes faith to fight for what is right regardless of the outcome. Courage recognizes failure as a possibility without being deterred by it. It doesn't make failure the determining factor.

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The right side is not always given the right outcome. Pride falls and sloth won't get up, but faith goes into battle fueled by purpose, not by a guarantee of outcome. Faith is no less faithful if it falls in battle. In fact, it is proven faithful for doing so. Courage would rather die for the right cause than live for the wrong one.

"For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land … [to] laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land." -- C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

Faith is first in the fray and last out. It works as hard as it can in order to honor the God above them and the people behind them. It does what is best as defined by God and leaves what's best to God's designs. God will do what seems best to Him and faith does what God said is best to do. Faith seeks to be as strong as it can be. It wants to fight as hard as it can because it loves what is behind it, above it, and before it. Whatever the result, faith rests in obedience by fighting the battle before it.

Sing, men of Christ, sing loud:

“Our banner is the Lord!”

First in, last out, and laughing loud,

We work for our reward.

One day we’ll hear, “Well done,”

And all our striving cease,

But ’til our lifelong race is run,

We’ll fight and laugh and feast.

- Josh Bishop, Come, Men of Christ, Be Strong