No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
(Proverbs 21:30–31)
As I sit on New Year’s Eve day we’re in the college bowl season with 70 football teams competing in post-season games. One of the addictive elements in following sports teams is the unknown factor. Every fan knows the terms “upset”, “dark-horse”, “underdog” etc. No matter how strong and prepared a team may be; no matter what their season performance has been, there is still always the possibility of the unexpected. In baseball every pitch brings with it the possibility (no matter how slim) of a home run. Every avid sports fan can rattle off a boatload of unexpected upsets in season after season. We understand that there are elements beyond the reach of mere mortals that determine the outcome of the game. (That’s one thing that keeps us coming back for more.)
This is true in life as well, as our text for today says:
The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the Lord.
In the bible we see this worked out in the life of Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. When his brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt he soon gets promoted because:
His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. (Genesis 39:3 )
Joseph no doubt worked diligently, but it was the Lord who “caused all that he did to succeed.”
Later when Joseph is unjustly put in prison he is again promoted:
The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. (Genesis 39:22–23)
We can prepare diligently and work mightily, but the outcome is still in God’s hands.
Several great lessons emerge from this wonderful passage from Proverbs:
- It remains our responsibility to “get the horse ready for battle,” but we do it with the knowledge that whether we succeed or not is ultimately in God’s hands.
- If we really understand and believe this, then we ask for God’s success as we “prepare our horses” and while we’re engaged in the battle.
- When we are successful, the glory belongs to the Lord since the final elements of victory are always beyond human reach.
- There is always the caveat of trusting God. He alone knows which battles we need to fight, which ones we need to win, and even which ones we need to lose.
AM Technical has worked hard throughout 2012, but the victory belongs to the Lord.