Part of the
Glass Castle Series.
Jonathan was
enthused about the battle, but he was getting tired, really tired. He noticed
that his fellow comrades were also wearying, although they were valiantly pursuing
the enemy. He had been rooting out ‘demons of darkness’ in a thick woods and
paused for a moment to catch his breath.
“Ah, honey!”
In their haste that morning they had forgotten to take time
for their devotions, time to receive the special food from the King that would
help them to battle on tirelessly. Seeing that honey dripping onto the ground
caused Jonathan to rejoice.
“Surely the King of Love is with us,” he cried, “and has blessed us with nourishment even though we had
been too hasty to take time to eat this morning.”
In his eagerness to taste the delectable treat he hadn't noticed that all the men around him had fallen silent and were watching him.
“Know you not that the Captain specifically asked us not to
waste time eating?” someone ventured.
“What? What kind of logic is that?”
“He was so confident of our success that he told us it wouldn’t
be necessary.”
Jonathan looked slowly around him. “But look how much better
I feel. I am refreshed. Think how much better all of you would feel if you had
taken a moment to feed on the manna from Heaven, or even just a little honey.”
He saw that some of them were beginning to scuff the leaves
under foot so said briskly. “But all is not lost, men. We are still in the army
of the King, so let’s go to it with renewed vigour now that we have rested a
bit.”
The fight was renewed, and many of the enemy was routed, but
Jonathan knew secretly that there would have been more power if they would
have stopped for nourishment.
The day waxed and waned and although there were many
victories, disaster befell them. Some of the weaker soldiers became
contaminated by the enemy’s food, and even their bold, impetuous Captain saw
that something had to be done or the triumph of the day would turn to tragedy.
More from Samuel 14.
