Hold Fast!

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, — Revelation 3:11

When General Sherman went through Atlanta toward the sea in the Civil War, he left in the fort, back in the Kennesaw Mountains, around 1,500 men to guard some 1½  million rations that he brought there. General Hood, however, attacked the fort with 6,000 troops. For a long time the battle raged furiously. Half of the defenders were either killed or seriously wounded. The general in command was wounded seven times.

When they were about to run up the white flag of surrender, Sherman was within 15 miles of the besieged camp. Through the signal corps on a nearby mountain, he sent this message: “Hold the fort, for I am coming. W.T. Sherman.” The message fired up the defenders of the fort and they held out for three more bloody hours until their reinforcements arrived, keeping their fort out of the hands of the enemy. This story was the basis for the famous hymn “Hold the Fort for I am Coming.”

Jesus gives the same message to us—“That which ye have already hold fast till I come” (Rev. 2:25). We are to be faithful until the Lord returns. If Christ returns in your lifetime, will He find you faithful in serving Him?  Are you be making your life count for the Lord Jesus Christ?