King Theoden: “What can Man do against such reckless hate?”Aragorn: “Ride out with me to meet them!”
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King Theoden: “For death and glory?”
Aragorn: “For Rohan!”
King Theoden: “Yes!”
The storm has broken. A sea of evil creatures spawned for the sole purpose of destroying the world of Men hurtles against the battlements of Helm’s Deep in wave after endless wave. Theoden, King of Rohan, finds himself entrusted with the last defense of his people only days after awakening from a personal spiritual oppression that had left him bereft of all courage, valor, strength, and leadership. And now everything depends upon him. It is not only torture, suffering, or death at the tip of a sword that torments the King’s thoughts: it is the knowledge that it will be under his leadership that his people will be systematically hunted and murdered, his once glorious lands ravaged, and the Kingdom of Rohan brought to ruin.
And it is in this moment that Theoden utters his words of despair:
“What can Man do against such reckless hate?”
Can anyone really blame him? Forced into a war not of his own choosing, placed square in the center of a malestrom from which there is no escape, called upon to conjure up the miracle that his people will need to live to see the sunrise again, outmanned, outnumbered - basically the worse situation imaginable.
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As the saying goes, "If this isn't the time to panic, I don't know when is!"
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But then up steps Aragorn, the descendant of even greater kings himself, to remind Theoden of something that has been lost in the despair of the moment - the same thing we usually lose sight of in the moment's of our greatest trial - the role he was meant to play. Aragorn doesn't look at that which is arrayed against them. Instead he chooses to look at what is within their power to control:
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The ability to fight.
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"Ride out with me and meet them!"
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We know that some Christian brothers and sisters may wonder why it is necessary to make such a major issue out of walking The Warrior's Path, why the metaphor of the Warrior is so vital to the way that we perceive ourselves in God's design.
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"Ride out with me and meet them!"
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This is why. Because the spirit of a civilian trying to "make life work" has a totally different reaction to trials, struggles, opposition. Yes, no matter what all the upbeat, 'victorious' Sunday morning sermons say, our abundant life in Christ is heavily opposed, our good hopes and desires are consistently thwarted, our relationships are under a constant barrage of destructive forces, and in response...we pout.
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Seriously. It's our instinctive reaction. "God, why?", (and said in our best Jim Carrey voice): "What is the deal?"
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No need to deny it. It's our natural default button. We go there instinctively, all of us. As sure as the sun will rise, as sure as the tides will roll, humans will cry out in self-pity: "Why me, Lord?" No-one would ever reasonably expect anything else...
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...except from someone with a Warrior's Heart.
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"Ride out with me and meet them!"
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What's got you locked down, on the defensive, firmly placed in survival mode right now? How recently have you said about some situation you are facing: "God, I get the warfare thing. But this is beyond fair! The powers of Evil seem to be alive and well, but what are You doing on my behalf? I don't know if I can take much more of this!"
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It's time to stop thinking like a civilian. It's time to start living like a Warrior. Yes, all the good stuff you long for in this life is being opposed by a Darkness that sometimes can feel unconquerable. So what are you going to do about it? Pity yourself? Or ride out to meet it?
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"Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the Day of Evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13)
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Ride out with us and meet them!
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Derrick and David
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