The difference between tenacity and timidity is a choice!

Mighty Men | Eleazar

2 Samuel 23:9-10 CEV

The next one of the Three Warriors was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite. One time when the Philistines were at war with Israel, he and David dared the Philistines to fight them. Every one of the Israelite soldiers turned and ran, except Eleazar. He killed Philistines until his hand was cramped, and he couldn’t let go of his sword. When Eleazar finished, all the Israelite troops had to do was come back and take the enemies’ weapons and armor. The Lord gave Israel a great victory that day.

The difference between tenacity and timidity is a choice!

2 Timothy 1:6-7 NASB

For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

3 truths about being tenacious:

1. Your responsibility is not diminished by the conduct of others

“The believer is responsible for his own faith and cannot employ priests or ministers to perform it for him. He must himself, pray, search the Scriptures, commune with God and obey the Lord Jesus. True faith is a personal thing. Each man…will, on the great day of judgment, be called to account for his own responsibilities, and not for those of others. So, he should live as before God alone, feeling that he is a separate personality and must, in his own individuality, consecrate himself—spirit, soul and body—entirely to the Lord. Eleazar, the son of Dodo, felt that he must play the man, whatever others might do, and, therefore, he bravely drew his sword” – Charles Spurgeon

2. Your companions can inspire or erode our courage

3. Your well-earned victory is worth more than unearned reward

1 Corinthians 16:13 HCSB

Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong.

Listen Here

Eleazar took his task from David seriously. He was met with overwhelming odds he continued to fight, he literally became the last man standing. He fought so hard for so long that his hand would not let go of his sword.

He was a man of marked individuality of character, a man who knew himself and knew his God, and did not care to be lost in the common mass, so as to run away merely because they ran. He thought for himself and acted for himself—he did not make the conduct of others the measure of his service, but while Israel fled—“he arose, and smote the Philistines

Eleazar was their for David, David was their for Eleazar, the two of them stood side by side and won the victory. They were an example of companions who inspired one another. Remember when you’ve surrounded yourself with people that are telling you to always be careful, make sure you don’t ever offend, don’t stretch out in faith too much…you might actually be better off without them!

Eleazar only stopped swinging when the enemy was in retreat, he only sat down when everyone else showed back up to collect the plunder.