Our General Youth President, Michael Ensey, opened the Youth Day service announcing a monumental offering total—the fourth highest in Sheaves for Christ history—of $3,892,876.22. These funds go to support missionaries, Tupelo Children’s Mansion, Lighthouse Ranch for Boys, Bible college scholarships, and many other organizations and causes.

Following the announcements, there was an awards ceremony where Luke Levine was declared the 2014 Youth President of the Year. Then the beautiful worship led by Rema Duncan and his team prepared our hearts for the Word of God. Anthony Bailey preached a powerful, direct message from II Samuel 21 entitled “Hold the Torch, Pass the Sword.” If we are going to be willing to fight for our lives, it is essential that we fight for our souls. We must prepare to fight the good fight of faith because there is a cause, and it is worthy of our attention.

Sometimes we unexpectedly find ourselves in the middle of a spiritual battle. David didn’t plan to go to battle, but he had confidence in meeting Goliath because he had courage to meet the lion and the bear. David certainly didn’t go looking for Goliath; he encountered him while he was serving. In the act of service, we will defeat every enemy we face. Many like the idea of defeating a Goliath in public but resist fighting the lion in private. But that is the power of private victories, and we must never underestimate the power of those private victories. Those smaller battles will equip you for the bigger ones.

One life saving lesson we learn from David’s life is this: private prayer produces public power. Private discipline produces public demonstration. If we are not careful, we will lose the concept of private victories. Together we will see victory. The God who enabled David to be victorious will enable us to be victorious. He does not change, even though generations change.

But God is in control of all generations. The elders, the young, and everyone in between. The elders are in our lives for a reason. Abishai was one of David’s swordsmen, but he was not with David for what the king could do for him. Nevertheless, his ministry was valuable and not diminished even though he didn’t receive a kingly title.

Ours is the Abishai generation. While our elders hold the torch, we swing the sword. And God has promised certain victory for us, but never at the exclusion of the David generation. We can be victorious as well. You may not ever hold a title people recognize, but you can still fight with the same sword our forefathers used. And we need our elders to hold the torch so our generation can know the way.

We need to learn to fight some battles without being publicly recognized. Pastor Bailey so well said, “They will keep the light, we will keep the fight.” Align with your leaders. They will hold the torch while the able bodied, young people fight the fight. Moses needed a Joshua, and Joshua needed a Moses. There are places this generation can go that others are not—or were not—able to go.

So be ready because evil never takes a generation off, but neither does truth. New giants form and reveal themselves, but they will never be strong enough to win a battle God is part of. He is not intimidated or caught off guard by the evil in our world.

We must stop talking yourself out of victories. God is on our side, and greater is He that is in us than He that is in the World. He has given us everything we need. When Gideon heard what the enemy was saying about him, he worshipped. If we could see what the enemy is trying to do, our worry would be turned into worship. What the enemy is saying to you is often very different than what he is saying about you. He is afraid of us, and more specifically, he is afraid of the God inside of us.

So stand. And fight. And know that when you take a stand for one thing, you take a stand against something else. But we’re not standing for our name; we’re standing for HIs name, and all of Hell does not have any authority to determine our identity. We can all have a hand in the victory God is bringing. We don’t have to fear or worry. We just need a good dose of faith.

Together, we can and will win.

Rachel Thorne was born in Florida and has lived in many places throughout the United States. She is a graduate of Urshan College, formerly known as Gateway College of Evangelism. She wants to make a difference and change her world. Rachel is actively seeking the will of God for her life and is willing to do whatever He has for her.