"This is Battle" - A Short Story
Dear Friends, in these last days, we are more and more reminded of the spiritual battle in which we're involved. Our enemies are not other people, and our weapons are not physical, but those two facts don't make this war any less ugly.
Dee and I are moving forward on editing Shadow Slave, Book Two in my Trafficking Rescue Novel Series. But right now, I want to share an allegory that I believe you will relate to. This is our life in these last days, ripe with controversy and struggle. With whom will we stand and how will we represent Christ? Enjoy the story —David Telbat
This Is Battle
by D.I. Telbat
Wes Baxter crawled through the mud of the trench. Fiery darts soared overhead. He flattened his face against the wall of the trench until the barrage of darts ceased.
"Stand firm!" shouted Sergeant Howard. The man was slender and sickly, but when he swung a golden sword with both hands, the smoke above was split like a curtain. "Get up and stand firm, Carlton! On your feet, Soldier!"
Wes noticed that Private Jeff Carlton nearby had been wounded across the chest, but he still managed to find his feet in the mud and stand. With relief, Wes watched Sergeant Howard move into the battlefield and out of sight. The sergeant hadn't seemed to noticed Wes cringing in the mud.
"Come on, Wes!" Jeff called and waved, his face showing pain from his wound. "We can help each other stand if we lean against one another."
Jeff Carlton had joined the ranks only a couple years earlier, but Wes had noticed how his neighbor had matured in truth and character to have such boldness.
"No, I can't!" Wes shoveled mud over his legs and torso in an effort to hide better. "I'm too afraid of being wounded. This is such a mess!"
Jeff climbed out of the trench alone, following the sergeant, and Wes sighed with relief that no one else remained in that section of trench to encourage him to go where he didn't want to go. He couldn't even see the enemy!
Suddenly, a body fell into the trench. Wes was about to push the muddy thing away when it moved.
"Wes, is that you?" It was Mrs. Audrey Meyers, his Sunday School teacher from his youth. She was quite elderly now, but there was light in her eyes and her sword was still shining. "I've been wounded. Help me up. We can stand together. Are you wounded badly?"
"No, I'm not wounded at all. I've avoided the fight altogether. I find it very controversial to be at war in the first place."
Audrey touched her wound and her hand came away bloody.
"Controversial?" She placed several verse bandages over her wound. "Of course, it's controversial. This is battle. What did you expect when you joined the Lord's army?"
"Well, I really liked the uniform, and I wanted to be a part of something."
"Our Lord died for us so He could rescue us from darkness. It's our duty to stand for the truth about Him and to defy the darkness that revolts against Him."
"I'd rather stand when the sky is blue and I can see flowers instead of all this mud."
"But Wes, standing for the truth of the cross isn't necessary when there is no conflict. Though we know there will always be conflict."
"I just want everyone to get along and not be so divisive."
"Young man, darkness is already divided against the light. What do you think our Lord died for and rose again to defeat? Get on your feet."
Wes sighed and slowly stood.
"Now what?"
"Help me up. We'll stand together to keep each other focused on the reason we're willing to be wounded."
"I don't want to be wounded. I'm afraid of what people will think of me."
"No one wants to be wounded, Wes, but for our Savior's sake, we're not afraid of it. We know we're safe in our Lord's hands no matter what injury we receive."
Wes pulled Audrey to her feet and put his arm around her to hold her upright, but it was her determined gaze that seemed to encourage him.
"Do you see the promises out there through the smoke?" she asked.
"There?" He pointed straight ahead. "The shining light?"
"Yes, that's it! Now, remember what the Lord has done for us on the cross. Tell me."
Flaming arrows of social intimidation and mockery flew all around them, but Wes kept his eyes on the light.
"He suffered and died for us. We couldn't be forgiven for our sins and sinfulness any other way."
"Exactly! Now, what is our Lord's eternal purpose for His believers who follow His Son?"
Smoking darts of worldly expectation and humanistic remedies landed nearby, but Wes didn't back away.
"He saved us to be a body of influential light in a dark world that hates Him."
"Are you confident you're safe," Audrey asked, "even if the world tries to cancel you or destroy your livelihood?"
"The promises of the Lord are not based on what mankind says or does," Wes said from his swelling heart. "The promises for us are based on what Jesus the Savior has already completed. Let worldly people do what they may. Wounds from them are a mark of honor for my Lord."
"Do you want to return to crawling in the mud and avoiding the conflict?"
"No!" Wes smiled with determination. "I remember now why I wear this uniform."
"Good." She clung to his arm with one hand and her blade with the other. "Now, Christian Saint, draw your sword and stand firm!"
The End
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NOTE: Our current BookSweeps Giveaway has been extended through DEC 7! Two winners will receive 49 Inspirational fiction & nonfiction books, including David’s latest novel, Hidden Humanity: A Trafficking Rescue Novel! The Grand Prize Winner will also receive a new eReader. Click this link to enter for a chance to win!
COMING UP: Join us next time (Dec 19) for another D.I. Telbat Author Reflection.
If you missed our last newsletter, you can read it here.
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