Spion Kop - Where the British snatched defeat from the Jaws of victory
Our church recently suffered a significant setback when a piece of land we were convinced God had set aside for us was sold to another buyer. I was dismayed, especially since the seller had promised to extend the deadline by a further 3 months while we came up with the finance. It would take several blogs to convey to you not only the excitement which had built up since November when the land became available but our heartfelt conviction that we were on the verge of a major move of destiny.
Yet in spite of this buildup of "faith" energy, when the news broke, my reaction was decidedly carnal. The immediate temptation was to dishonour the buyer, dismiss him as a liar or man of weak principle. On one occasion, I thought the "glorious future" we'd dreamt of and prayed about was perhaps not so glorious after all. Another time, the urge to indulge some less glorious distraction seemed appealing.
So back to my opening question: how are we to deal with disappointment, with unrequited faith?
Firstly, Bill Johnson reminds us that we are not to live in a state of reaction to negative circumstances. Our agenda must remain that of the King.
Firstly, Bill Johnson reminds us that we are not to live in a state of reaction to negative circumstances. Our agenda must remain that of the King.
"The devil loves it when we live in reaction to his works. Then he's had a role in setting our agenda. Jesus lived in response to the Father. If we learn to live with the same priorities we will get the same breakthroughs"
Easier said than done! How often am the "double-minded" man described so vividly in the book of James?
"...he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
James 1:6
This "double-minded man" says Barnes' commentary - is described in the Greek as δίψυχος (dipsuchos) - the word means one who has two souls; or one who is wavering or inconstant. It describes the man who has no settled principles; who is controlled by passion; who is influenced by popular feeling; who is now inclined to one opinion or course of conduct, and now to another.
Secondly, we must remember that we can never hope to see the battle's masterplan in its entirety - the God's eye view which sees just how close victory really is. "Today is the day of God's favour, today is the day of Salvation" says Paul to the Corinthians. Regardless of the day's body-count, we are to live every day as though victory is imminent.
Yet how often have I (a combattant) second guessed the ebb and flow of battle - a job reserved exclusively for high command? The parable of the 10 virgins reminds us that we know neither the day nor the hour and as such are to lean into the fray in full preparedness regardless of how things look.
Let me close with a fitting parallel from The Second Boer War fought at the turn of the 19th century between the British Empire and the Boer Republics. A key and bloody battle in this conflict took place on a desolate hill near Ladysmith named Spion Kop. It began in the early hours of 23 January 1899 and after the first exchanges it looked as though things had gone Britain's way. But this was just the beginning. A lack of cover, coupled with a failure to control the secondary peaks surrounding the plateau meant the Imperial army would suffer heavy casualties. As the day wore on however, its numerical supremacy over the Boer force led to a stalemate which lasted well into the night. Towards dawn on the second day of battle, the Boers - unbeknownst to the British commanders - abandoned their positions and began an orderly retreat. The British front line commander - exhausted and traumatised by hours of sustained violence was completely unaware that he had all but won the battle. Even though 1400 reinforcements had been sent to help seal the victory, he ordered a retreat from Spion Kop. To add insult to injury, a signaller who tried to reverse the decision from a command post half way up the slopes of the hill found that his signaling lamp had run out of oil. As Thomas Pakenham writes in his seminal book "The Boer War":
Secondly, we must remember that we can never hope to see the battle's masterplan in its entirety - the God's eye view which sees just how close victory really is. "Today is the day of God's favour, today is the day of Salvation" says Paul to the Corinthians. Regardless of the day's body-count, we are to live every day as though victory is imminent.
Yet how often have I (a combattant) second guessed the ebb and flow of battle - a job reserved exclusively for high command? The parable of the 10 virgins reminds us that we know neither the day nor the hour and as such are to lean into the fray in full preparedness regardless of how things look.
Let me close with a fitting parallel from The Second Boer War fought at the turn of the 19th century between the British Empire and the Boer Republics. A key and bloody battle in this conflict took place on a desolate hill near Ladysmith named Spion Kop. It began in the early hours of 23 January 1899 and after the first exchanges it looked as though things had gone Britain's way. But this was just the beginning. A lack of cover, coupled with a failure to control the secondary peaks surrounding the plateau meant the Imperial army would suffer heavy casualties. As the day wore on however, its numerical supremacy over the Boer force led to a stalemate which lasted well into the night. Towards dawn on the second day of battle, the Boers - unbeknownst to the British commanders - abandoned their positions and began an orderly retreat. The British front line commander - exhausted and traumatised by hours of sustained violence was completely unaware that he had all but won the battle. Even though 1400 reinforcements had been sent to help seal the victory, he ordered a retreat from Spion Kop. To add insult to injury, a signaller who tried to reverse the decision from a command post half way up the slopes of the hill found that his signaling lamp had run out of oil. As Thomas Pakenham writes in his seminal book "The Boer War":
"The Battle was lost for want of a pennyworth of Oil"
Could victory be closer than you think? In the words of the great poet Tennyson:
"Theirs not to reason why...theirs but to do or die"
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