The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
Proverbs 21:31
Despite the Bible’s frequent exhortations to the contrary, I often find myself reverting to stubborn independence—trying to do things my own way and in my own strength. When I came across this verse earlier in the week, I found it both convicting and comforting: the victory is not mine—but neither is the battle! God’s omnipotence is the verse’s core message, but like most Proverbs, it has rich implications that are worth spending a few moments considering…
Victory
No victory will be made against God—that is certain; but I don’t believe this verse is a warning for those warring against God so much as a reminder to those warring for God. As Matthew Henry (1662-1714) said in his Bible commentary on this passage. ‘Be the cause ever so good, and the patrons of it ever so strong, and wise, and faithful, and the means of carrying it on, and gaining the point, ever so probable, still they must acknowledge God and take Him along with them.’
The verse reminds us that our battles are his battles and our victories are in fact his victories. I often think I just need to try harder to conquer that sin, or work a bit more to get that postdoc, or pray a bit longer to fix my family’s problems. All of my objectives are good enough, but I should approach these issues saying ‘God, what are You doing here and what do you want me to do?’ rather than ‘How am I going to tackle this?’ My self-reliant attitude invariably creates two problems. Firstly, it leads me to despair, because when I see a big obstacle or an enemy on the horizon, I rightfully realize that I am too weak to overcome it! Secondly, my attitude leads to pride because if I succeed to any degree against a problem, I think the victory was in fact mine! Pride follows independence; but if I engaged problems with proper humility and faith, I would be much more likely to remember who won the victory when the battle is done!
Ride with Me
Yet this verse has more to tell us. We are unreliable servants and stumbling, stuttering messengers of the Gospel, but the Bible shows us that very often God chooses to work with us and through us despite our shortcomings. God doesn’t need us to achieve his purposes or bring himself glory: it’s not like He needed a full team to play ball and we were the last kids left in the schoolyard from which to choose. No, He doesn’t need us, but He does want to use us and so invites us to take part in his Great Plan.
That’s why I find the horse in this proverb profound: it’s a beautiful reminder that God doesn’t just leave us in camp to wait for his return. To again quote Henry: ‘Means indeed are to be used; the horse must be prepared against the day of battle, and the foot too; they must be armed and disciplined.’ God has a job for us to do.
How would understanding this change my approach to work and church and family and friends? Would I feel less scared, frustrated and enervated in sharing the Gospel, praying for friends, serving in church, or navigating academia if I understood that these are not my battles and will not be for my glory—but I am invited to join the winning side? I can ready my horse, not because I think that doing so will ensure I win the battle, but because it will mean following after the One who will.
The victories do not belong to us—but Jesus does!
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