Step 12 of 14But if not
Hold the Line
The horns blew from the ridgeline as the enemy came onTen thousand torches down the hill, and half our men were goneThe ones beside me dropped their shields and ran into the nightTill I was standin' all alone with nothin' left but the fight
Every voice inside said, "Run, son, ain't nobody here to see"But the King I serve was watchin' and He stood there next to me
So I'll hold the lineWhen the whole world breaks and runsI'll hold the lineTill the long night's work is doneI will stand in holy placesAnd I will not be movedIf I'm the last man on the fieldLord, I'll hold the line for You
But the battle ain't all torches, sometimes it's a quiet roomWhere every man around you bends, and they're all watchin' youSometimes it's a boss who says, "Just sign it, let it go"Sometimes it's your oldest friend, and you're the one who says no
Three men stood before the furnace while a kingdom bowed its headSaid, "Our God is able — but if not, we'd rather burn instead"
So I'll hold the lineWhen the whole world breaks and runsI'll hold the lineTill the long night's work is doneI will stand in holy placesAnd I will not be movedIf I'm the last man on the fieldLord, I'll hold the line for You
Then a shield locked next to mine, then another on my rightMen who ran were comin' back to stand beside me in the fight'Cause courage catches fire, brother — one man is all it takesYou hold, the next man finds his feet, and the line will never break
So we'll hold the lineWhen the whole world breaks and runsWe'll hold the lineTill the long night's work is doneWe will stand in holy placesAnd we will not be movedIf we're the last men on the fieldLord, we'll hold the line for You
When the sun came up that mornin'The line was standin' stillHold the lineWhen the sun came up that mornin'
The story
The title song starts on a battlefield at night. The horns blow from the ridgeline, ten thousand torches come down the hill, and the men beside him drop their shields and run into the dark. Soon he's standing alone with nothing left but the fight. Every voice inside him says run, son, there's nobody here to see. But the King he serves is watching, and He's standing right there next to him.
Most of our battles don't have torches. The song says so: sometimes it's a quiet room where every man around you bends and they're all watching you. Sometimes it's a boss who says just sign it, let it go. Sometimes it's your oldest friend, and you're the one who has to say no. In every one of those, holding the line means being willing to be the only one. The chorus is built on what the Lord told Joseph Smith in a revelation about wars and calamities to come: "stand ye in holy places, and be not moved." He didn't give that promise for easy times. He gave it for the worst ones.
Then the song turns to three young men in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and commanded everyone to bow down or be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego said, "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace... But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods." Listen to that. They didn't make their faithfulness depend on being rescued. That's the difference between faith and a transaction. Elder Dennis E. Simmons taught exactly this: we trust that God can deliver us, but if not, we will still trust Him, knowing He will deliver us in His own time and His own way.
And here's the part I don't want anyone to miss. When the king looked into that fire, he saw four men, not three, loose and walking in the middle of it, "and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." They weren't alone in the furnace. That's the same truth the first verse of this song is pointing at. When you're the last one on the field, you aren't actually alone. The Lord Jesus Christ is standing in the fire with you.
Then the bridge, which is the heart of the whole album. A shield locks next to his, and then another, and men who ran are coming back to stand beside him. Courage catches fire. One man is all it takes. You hold, the next one finds his feet, and the line won't break. The Savior told Peter, "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Your faithfulness is never only about you. Someone is watching you hold, and finding the courage to come back.
So hold the line. Not because you're strong, and not because you're sure how it'll turn out, but because of who is standing next to you. And when the sun comes up, you may find you were never the last man on the field after all.
Sources
Think about it
Is your faith in God tied to Him giving you a particular outcome? What would "but if not" faith look like in the hardest thing you are facing right now?
Tonight
Think of one place tomorrow where you might be the only one standing for what is right. Decide now what you will do there, and pray for the courage to do it.