'Into the Fire'....

....Is a song from the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel. It is a really rousing, victory song when the Pimpernel is trying to rally his men together.

I've had it going around in a my head for a while now, and as I've been whistling the tune, God has been speaking to me through it. Ok, so I know that sounds strange, but that's how I work haha.

The lyrics are:

David walked into the valley

With a stone clutched in his hand

He was only a boy

But he knew someone must take a stand

There will always be a valley

Always mountains one must scale

There will always be perilous waters

Which someone must sail

Into valleys, into waters

Into jungles, into hell

Let us ride, let us ride home again with a story to tell

Into darkness, into danger

Into storms that rip the night

Don't give in, don't give up

But give thanks for the glorious fight

You can tremble, you can fear it

But keep your fighting spirit alive boys

Let the shiver of it sting you

Fling into battle, spring to your feet boys

Never hold back your step for a moment

Never doubt that your courage will grow

Hold your head even higher and into the fire we go

Are there mountains that surround us?

Are there walls that block the way?

Knock 'em down, strip 'em back boys

And forward and into the fray

Into terror, into valour

Charge ahead, no, never turn

Yes, it's into the fire we fly

And the devil will burn

Someone has to face the valley

Rush in, we have to rally and win boys

When the world is saying not to

By God, you know you've got to march on, boys

Never hold back your step for a moment

Never doubt that your courage will grow

Hold your head ever higher and into the fire we go

The first verse [David walked into the valley, With a stone clutched in his hand, He was only a boy, But he knew someone must take a stand] obviously talks of David as he walked out to meet Goliath with only a sling and five small stones in his hand. He knew that the giant had to be defeated, and knew that with God on his side he would have no problem. We need to acknowledge the giants in our life, and know that they can be defeated with God on our side. Once the giant has been defeated we need to recognise it when it starts to rear its ugly head again. Often with giants in our lives it takes a lot of prayer and a long time to truly defeat them, but as David showed everyone, it was very easy to slay the big ole' giant. He had God. When we are trying to defeat giants we need to remember that we can't do it alone, and that with God it will be so much easier and definitely less scary! What we need, is a little bit of faith. Matthew 17:20 says, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

A mustard seed is small, and a mountain huge. As was the stone David used and the giant he was up against. Once we have that little bit of faith, we can count on God to give us the courage and strength to conquer giants.

The second and third verse [There will always be a valley, Always mountains one must scale, There will always be perilous waters, Which someone must sail. Into valleys, into waters, Into jungles, into hell, Let us ride, let us ride home again with a story to tell, Into darkness, into danger, Into storms that rip the night, Don't give in, don't give up, but give thanks for the glorious fight], reminds me of Psalm 23.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

There will always be valleys we must walk through, storms we must, mountains we must scale, but God will always be there guiding us through it. Everything that is mentioned in Psalm 23 is what He will do for us. And remember that faith moves mountains, so it is important to have that faith in God that He will see us through.

The part that talks about perilous waters to sail and storms to face makes me think of the story where Jesus calms the storm, found in Mark 6.

...."A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern sleeping on the cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?'. He got up up and rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!'. Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'

The disciples began to question whether Jesus cared about them or not as he slept and left them to fear the storm and wonder why this was happening. The other day though God gave me the revelation that sometimes we need these storms in life. Without the storms we would forever be in a drought. It is the storms that bring new growth. And although it may feel like God has left us to take a nap, He is right there for us to call out to Him. And then He will come and rebuke the storm and bring us calm. Remember, God will never let us endure more than we can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message version) says, "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He'll never let you be pushed past your limit; He'll always be there to help you come through it."

Once He has calmed the storm Jesus questions His disciples about their faith. Remember, the mustard seed of faith.

Lastly, where it says "Don't give in, don't give up", I want to mention the verse found in Phillippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Verses 4,5, and 6 [You can tremble, you can fear it, But keep your fighting spirit alive boys, Let the shiver of it sting you, Fling into battle, spring to your feet boys, Never hold back your step for a moment, Never doubt that your courage will grow, Hold your head even higher and into the fire we go. Are there mountains that surround us? Are there walls that block the way? Knock 'em down, strip 'em back boys, And forward and into the fray, Into terror, into valour, Charge ahead, no, never turn, Yes, it's into the fire we fly, And the devil will burn], when I read this I immediately thought of Ezekiel 37 when it talks about an army of bones forming from the sand, and Joel 2 where it talks about the coming of the Lord and how His army is being summoned. To me it just speaks of how we are called to be an army for the Lord, and to fight for Him.

I was also reminded of a poem that someone sent me ages ago: "We (the children of the Lord) have been designed in such a way that when the people of the world are sitting, we will be standing. When the people of the world are standing, we will stand out. When the world stands out, we will be outstanding, and when the devil dares the world to be outstanding, we will be the standards that are used."

When we fight battles, move mountains, walk through valleys and face storms, we do it with God on our side, and we know that we already have certain victory (Joshua and the walls of Jericho). When our step falters or we don't know what to say, God will set us on the straight path and put the words into our mouths. We can always count on God, that as we try to live our lives for Him, He will always be the battle cry and the song of victory that urges us on until the end.

The last verse [Someone has to face the valley, Rush in, we have to rally and win boys, When the world is saying not to, By God, you know you've got to march on, boys, Never hold back your step for a moment, Never doubt that your courage will grow, Hold your head ever higher and into the fire we go] just says it all for me. I love the whole verse, as it just speaks to me of the certain victory we have in God and the thrill of living for Him.

The sentence When the world is saying not to, by God you know you've got to march on maybe using the term 'by God' as an emphasis that the characters of the Scarlet Pimpernel and his men were real English gentlemen, but for me it says that when the world is telling we can't do something, BY God, THROUGH God, FOR God, and WITH God, we will face up to it and march on because we know that we can do it. In John 17 it speaks of us as being in the world but not of it. Therefore, when the world says we have to do something or can't do it, we don't have to conform to it.

How great is it knowing that we do not have to do what the world says; we can move mountains; we can walk through valleys and brave storms; we are an army; we can fight battles; we can slay giants; and all because of the one we call Saviour, and the seed of faith that He has given us.