My Dread Champion
December 5 , 2008

“But the Lord is with me like a dread champion; therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.” – Jeremiah 20:11

The season of Advent is full of the names of God: Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. We sing of Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man. We proclaim him King of kings and Lord of lords in the rousing Hallelujah chorus.

But there are other names for God, sometimes mentioned just once, hidden away in the scripture texts, unseen and unpondered. Jeremiah 20:11 contains one of these names: the Lord my dread Champion.

The prophet Jeremiah was at a dark point in his life. He felt that God had deceived him. He had become a laughingstock among men. His trusted friends had betrayed him. He cursed the day he was born. But in the midst of his despair, he made this great proclamation: “The Lord is with me like a dread Champion.”

He pictured God as a warrior: not fighting beside him, but fighting for him. A champion is one who fights on your behalf – taking up your cause and going into battle so that you don’t have to do so. When the champion wins, you win.

Jeremiah affirmed that his persecutors would be overcome and would fail utterly – because God was fighting for him. That cry of faith sustained him through the dark night and gave him the courage he needed to continue on a long and difficult road.

• What battles are you fighting? What enemies are you facing?
  
• Have you been relying on God in the midst of these battles, or on your own strength? With what results?
  
• What difference would it make to your faith and your courage to truly understand that God is fighting for you as a dread champion – that is, one who is incredibly strong, skilled, and cunning; a champion who cannot be beaten?