1 Maccabees 11:67-74: a reflection

67Jonathan and his army encamped at the water of Gennesareth, and early in the morning they marched to the plain of Hazor. 68Behold, an army of foreigners met him in the plain. They laid an ambush for him in the mountains, but they themselves met him face to face. 69But those who lay in ambush rose out of their places and joined battle. All those who were on Jonathan’s side fled. 70Not one of them was left, except Mattathias the son of Absalom, and Judas the son of Chalphi, captains of the forces. 71Jonathan tore his clothes, put dirt on his head, and prayed. 72He turned again to them in battle, and routed them, and they fled. 73When the men on his side who had fled saw this, they returned to him and pursued with him to Kedesh to their camp, and they encamped there. 74About three thousand men of the foreigners fell on that day. Then Jonathan returned to Jerusalem.

Jonathan and his army are ambushed, and it goes badly. His men panic and flee; almost the entire force scatters, leaving Jonathan with only two commanders standing beside him. It is the picture of a rout, a leader abandoned in the moment of disaster, everything falling apart around him. And in that moment, Jonathan does two things. He tears his clothes, puts dust on his head, and prays. And then he turns back to the battle.

Notice the order and the combination. First, in the disaster, he prays, crying out to God when the situation is hopeless and his own resources have collapsed. And then, having prayed, he does not simply wait; he turns again to the fight, rallies, and God gives him the victory, routing the very enemy that had scattered his army, until his fleeing men, seeing it, return to join him.

There is a pattern here for the moments when everything seems to be falling apart, when the support scatters and the situation looks lost. The response is not despair, and not blind action either, but prayer that cries out to God in the collapse, followed by renewed courage to turn back and act. When you are abandoned in a crisis and tempted to give up, do what Jonathan did: cry out to God first, from the dust if you must, and then turn back to the task with the strength he gives. God is able to turn a rout into a victory for the one who prays and does not quit.

Lord, when everything falls apart and the support scatters and the situation looks lost, keep me from despair. Teach me Jonathan's response: to cry out to you first, from the dust if I must, and then to turn back with courage to the task. You are able to turn a rout into victory for the one who prays and does not quit. Meet me in the collapse.