I won't go quietly

I’m fully aware that this next sentence is going to confirm Irish stereotypes BUT there’s a scene in Braveheart that has stuck with me for 25 years. (I also like Lucky Charms).

It’s not the scene you’re probably thinking of, with the big “Freedom” speech, so I’ll give you a refresher.

The English army is lined up in all its imposing, disciplined might. They clearly have some pretty major advantages in this fight - training, armour and the latest in military tech…arrows and horses. Frankly it’s looking pretty bad for the scraggly-looking Scots. The music and atmosphere is tense. It feels like this rebellion was maybe not the best idea at this point!

Then it kicks off. The English unleash what looks like a sky-full of arrows. Uh oh. The Scots brace for impact. A few arrows bounce off crudely crafted wooden shields and helmets. Some pierce legs and arms in gross ways. A few have their intended lethal result.

As the last arrow lands there’s kind of this pregnant pause…how will the Scots react? A few seconds go by.

And then in unison the Scots bounce up to their feet, raise their war cry, face their buttocks towards the enemy and lift their kilts - a defiant display of some of the pastiest Celtic skin you’ve ever seen!

Maybe only an Irishman would say this, but what if we need to let our worship be like that sometimes?

Not specifically the bare butts. (Although King David has been known to shed some clothing in worship!)

But the defiance.

The enemy is hitting us with some of his best/worst artillery right now. You know his weaponry by now. A global pandemic, isolation and the rising mental health consequences, unemployment. And that’s on top of the everyday attacks he was sending out before this Covid stuff landed.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to respond to that by hunkering down in a corner somewhere until the blitz is over.

I want to let him know that I’m not intimidated or beaten down. That I won’t go quietly.

This is where worship comes in.

When the enemy fires his arrows and we absorb them, responding with a song of unwavering trust God’s goodness - imagine what that feels like?

Worship demoralizes the enemy.

It’s not a polite, frightened little religious ceremony.

Worship is a legitimately badass way to respond to these circumstances.

I don’t know where you’re at this week on the emotional scale. Maybe you’re in a different headspace, and you need time to lament and process and grieve. That’s completely ok. We’ve talked a lot about that in these journals over the last wee while.

But maybe like me you’re coming out of that. Maybe you’re more angry than scared or sad.

There’s a healthy outlet for that anger. We can use worship as warfare.

Maybe it’s time to pick a fight.

Love,
Rend Co.