Week of Monday, September 14 – Saturday, September 20
Partner up! – Man as Battle Buddy
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. —Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV)
You need a battle buddy! In the Army, we were assigned one. The idea was to partner up with another recruit for the purpose of comradery, mutual encouragement, and accountability. Even our elite Rangers do the same. In a combat situation, having a reliable battle buddy can also mean the difference between life and death. He’s got your back and you’ve got his. The battle buddy concept has served our soldiers well for decades. In fact, it works across the board. Men need other men to survive let alone be successful as a man.
Now let’s be honest. We guys are notorious for attempting to go “Lone Ranger” through life. Some knuckleheads, for whatever reason, believe that they don’t “need” other men in their lives. They think they don’t need anyone to help them. There are many reasons for this thinking. Maybe some guy let them down or betrayed them. Maybe they think their close family ties are enough. Yet in many ways, a man’s insistence about not needing a battle buddy is often a good indication of just how much he needs one.
In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon shares with us some great wisdom concerning our need for a battle buddy. We need a battle buddy to help us accomplish our mission (v. 9) and pick us up when we are down (v. 10). We need a battle buddy to help us survive tough conditions and rough circumstances (v. 11). Sometimes we need a battle buddy to help successfully defend against attack. I like the New Living Translation of v. 12a: “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.” In short, we need a battle buddy to make it through life successfully.
But don’t miss the last part of v. 12: “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Developing a strong bond with a battle buddy is vitally important, but it is even more important to make the Lord Jesus your third partner. I have been blessed to have had a number of fine battle buddies during the course of my life, but the best ones are those who are also followers of Christ. Two battle buddies who link arms with one another and whose relationship is partnered up with Christ is a threefold cord that is not easily broken. So guys, partner up!
Partner up! – Man as Battle Buddy
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. —Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV)
You need a battle buddy! In the Army, we were assigned one. The idea was to partner up with another recruit for the purpose of comradery, mutual encouragement, and accountability. Even our elite Rangers do the same. In a combat situation, having a reliable battle buddy can also mean the difference between life and death. He’s got your back and you’ve got his. The battle buddy concept has served our soldiers well for decades. In fact, it works across the board. Men need other men to survive let alone be successful as a man.
Now let’s be honest. We guys are notorious for attempting to go “Lone Ranger” through life. Some knuckleheads, for whatever reason, believe that they don’t “need” other men in their lives. They think they don’t need anyone to help them. There are many reasons for this thinking. Maybe some guy let them down or betrayed them. Maybe they think their close family ties are enough. Yet in many ways, a man’s insistence about not needing a battle buddy is often a good indication of just how much he needs one.
In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon shares with us some great wisdom concerning our need for a battle buddy. We need a battle buddy to help us accomplish our mission (v. 9) and pick us up when we are down (v. 10). We need a battle buddy to help us survive tough conditions and rough circumstances (v. 11). Sometimes we need a battle buddy to help successfully defend against attack. I like the New Living Translation of v. 12a: “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.” In short, we need a battle buddy to make it through life successfully.
But don’t miss the last part of v. 12: “a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Developing a strong bond with a battle buddy is vitally important, but it is even more important to make the Lord Jesus your third partner. I have been blessed to have had a number of fine battle buddies during the course of my life, but the best ones are those who are also followers of Christ. Two battle buddies who link arms with one another and whose relationship is partnered up with Christ is a threefold cord that is not easily broken. So guys, partner up!
- How about you? Are you trying to go Lone Ranger through life? First, you need to partner up with Jesus by bowing your knee to him as Lord and receiving his deliverance from sin as your Savior.
- Have you thought and prayed about who you might partner up with as a battle buddy? In the Army, we were assigned a battle buddy. We became inseparable in combat because we depended on and trusted each other. Let the Lord direct you to your battle buddy.
- For those who have a battle buddy, think of some ways that you can be a better one.