1 Chronicles 7:11
All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.
Before these men were ever mighty men of valor, they were fit to go out for war and battle. When they went to battle, they never set out to be mighty men of valor, but they became mighty men of valor when they didn't back down from the battles they faced. They faced the battles that came their way and became known as mighty men of valor. Certainly, there were other men who fought in battles, but only those who faced the fiercest battles became the mighty men of valor; however, this would have never happened had they not been fit to go out for war and battle.
Nobody has ever been a believer of valor without going through battles. The believer who sits in the pew and does nothing has never become a believer of valor. The believer who sits and criticizes the one who is fighting in the battle has never been a believer of valor. The believer of valor never sought out to become a believer of valor, but they didn't back down when the battles came. The believer of valor stepped up when the fierce battle came, and they didn't run when the battle turned against them. They found a way to keep forging through the battle until they won. It was their tenacity to find a way through the fiercest battles that caused them to become a believer of valor.
One great need in our nation today are believers who become believers of valor. No, don't seek the status of becoming a believer of valor, but get busy in the battle for the LORD, and likely you will at some point face fierce battles and become a believer of valor if you don't quit. Let me point out a few things that makes a believer of valor.
First, the believer of valor must face battles. Battles are going to come. No believer of valor ever sought to coast through the Christian walk. Every believer of valor got busy serving the LORD, and the battles came. You cannot become a believer of valor without facing battles.
Second, believers of valor are fit for the battle. The word fit means to be ready, prepared, in shape, and equipped for the battle. What is the believer of valor equipped with? They are equipped with the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. You will die in the battle if you are not fit for the battle. You cannot go into the spiritual battle and win without being spiritually fit with the armor of God. Believers of valor know the importance of the armor of God that protects them in the battle, and they know they cannot fight this battle missing one piece of armor.
Third, the believer of valor moves forward in the battle when others are retreating. I think of President George Washington who saw troops retreating, but he forged his way through the retreating troops toward the battle, which resulted in the retreating troops turning around to win that battle. He was certainly a man of valor, and his valor encouraged others to turn around. When other believers are sounding the retreat, you must be the believer who charges forward to do what is right. It is not about how many come with you that determines if you are going to go forward in the battle, but you go forward if nobody goes with you because the battle must be fought. Believers of valor don't know what it means to retreat in the battle because they have never retreated in a battle.