The Battle of Valley Forge

"you endured a great struggle with sufferings"

Hebrews 10:32

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.  Famed in song and story.  Well, in story, definitely.... I don't know that there are any songs about Valley Forge.

But you know the story, don't you?  Valley Forge was where George Washington and his men camped during the winter of 1777-1778.  Big deal, right?  All they did was live there for a few months.  And yet it's one of the most famous places in U.S. history.   Lexington and Concord, Fort Ticonderoga, Bunker Hill, Yorktown... and Valley Forge.

I've been there.  We took there kids there a few years ago on a history vacation.  It's a beautiful place.  There are a few buildings there, replica and otherwise; and people in period costume.

And the amazing thing about Valley Forge is that, in a way, nothing happened there.  There was no battle, no threat from the enemy at all; just waiting.  And not pleasant waiting, either ~ suffering, really.  The men were cold, ill-fed and ill-clothed.  Some were sick, and some wounded.  They were in crowded living conditions, which were generally not warm or dry.

The reason it's a source of American pride is for the strength and perseverance exhibited by those men.  Not to mention the leadership qualities of George Washington in inspiring his men to stay, rather than desert to find food or shoes or whatever.

But the other important thing about Valley Forge was that not only did the men come out stronger in spirit for having persevered, they came out militarily stronger.  A Prussian by the name of Baron von Steuben, a former member of his country's army, volunteered his services to Washington.  The men were beneficiaries of his impressive military wisdom, and for months he trained and drilled them.  And by the end of their time in Valley Forge, because of the efforts of Washington and Von Steuben, the exhausted, ragtag men had become an army.

So here's the lesson.  You are never doing nothing.  No time of waiting is without purpose.  Endure, and learn what He is teaching you.   Though it's not fought with weapons, this is a battle, too. 

~ "You will not need to fight in this battle.

Position yourselves, stand still

and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you" ~

2 Chronicles 20:17