First we are enlisted by the Holy Spirit to join up. Some think we volunteer and offer ourselves, but if that is so, it is only because the Spirit has been calling and the ability to respond was His doing.
Once in His army, we may have stereotypes about how to live as a soldier, but mainly no clue how a genuine soldier is supposed to behave. Status wise, we are soldiers, but in experience we need to be trained, put through bootcamp before we really know much about it. Not only that, learning comes at different rates and with different ‘lessons’ depending on each person’s background and former habits. Unlike a military army, our Commanding Officer takes this into consideration. He does not insist that everyone looks and acts the same. We progress according to individual mentoring as He knows best.
Yet we do progress. Each one IS a soldier, no matter if one marches out of step or another salutes with the wrong hand. Our identity in the army of God is the same — we belong to Jesus no matter how much we know about how to act or even how to go to battle. One thing is certain:
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)Sometimes a military person goes AWOL or drops out, or gets put out, but this is not true of God’s army. OT and NT believers are spoken of as God’s people who endure in faith and persist in obedience. Some “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” (Hebrews 11:33–34) And “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Timothy 2:4)
As I read books like “Born for Battle” and “Praying the Bible” God impresses on me the hard work of being in His army is not physical service (as hard as it can be) but prayer. After times of fervent prayer, I can feel as exhausted as if I had spent the day tending to the needs of those who have nothing. The “foreign armies” are not other belief systems or anti-God people but:
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)It is little wonder that the rest of Ephesians tells of the armor needed to fight this fight. If my head and heart are not protected by true thoughts, or if I’m not clothed in truth or using the Word of God which is my sword, I will experience no words to say, no perseverance in saying them in prayer or to others, and even no prayer at all. The enemy knows how to distract and disarm me, how to discourage and sidetrack me, even how to make me feel so tired that I’d rather sleep than do anything else, including battle him in prayer.
PRAY: Jesus, after years of civilian pursuits and trying to please myself or other people, You are putting my focus on my duties as Your soldier. Actually that dream was not quite the same as reality in Your army. Those who pray on the sidelines are warriors too, perhaps even in a greater sense than those more visible in ministry that involve physical effort in all sorts of serving. Right now, all I want is to be faithful in whatever You give me to do, not only in marching on to war, but making certain that Your cross and Your words go before to lead me, and that I am praising You and causing hell’s foundations to quiver. In this battle, the devil flees, and Your people are victorious and totally effective in defeating his lies and making You known. Amen!
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