Comrades in Conquest
Close your eyes
and just try imagining with me what it would be like to be a soldier on a
military base somewhere overseas on foreign soil. Maybe some of you have even been in that
situation before in your life. You’re
completely separated from your family, never quite knowing what the next day
will bring. It’d be nice to have someone
on the base with you that you could call a friend, wouldn’t it be?
Waking
up, going to work or school, and coming back home again isn’t exactly what we
typically envision when we talk about a battlefield, but the Word of God
clearly informs us that we do live on a battlefield. We are in a battle every single day, but “the
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and
every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Co 10: 4&5) “For though we live in the world, we do not
wage war as the world does.” (2 Co 10:3)
I
don’t know about you, but I so love that chapter in 2 Corinthians. I encourage you to take the time and read all
eighteen verses of the chapter. The
Bible contains so many verses that talk about war and battles- both physical and
spiritual. Ephesians 6 and starting at
verse ten gives us the well-known passage about the armor of God. “For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. Therefore put on the full armor
of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand,” it tells us in verses
twelve and thirteen.
A
soldier can be the most decorated in the army, but unless he personally knows
Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he knows nothing about winning the
greatest battle in life- the victory that will matter in the end. If you are reading this and have not made
Jesus lord of your life, then I sincerely pray that you will consider making
that decision. It will change your life
in a way you could never have imagined.
For those of us
that have already signed our names in commitment and have enlisted into this
battle, I want to emphasize the importance of surrounding ourselves with fellow
soldiers. Just as comrades are
appreciated by a soldier in the military, how wonderful it is to have a friend-
a brother or sister in Christ- who is also engaged in this battle of life! A fellow comrade with the same goal and
purpose as you; someone to support you, encourage you, be there to cover your
back and keep you accountable. And
likewise, I truly believe it is equally important to be that comrade for
others.
You
may be thinking right now that you don’t have a good friend or even a potential
good friend, but this fellow “soldier” I’m describing doesn’t have to be
someone in your circle of acquaintances; I don’t have many friends either. Family makes some of the best friends and
comrades you could find though. I have
been blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life to support me in my
journey through life and who have given me an opportunity to support them in
turn. My family has been tremendous-
both immediate family and extended family.
My cousin Christian has been my best friend for as long as I can
remember, and my two cousins living in Pennsylvania are my faithful “email
buddies.” And to top it off, I have a
wonderful church family to join in worshipping the Lord together every Sunday
morning. Get creative. Conquest comrades are out there, you just
have to look for them. And remember, to have
friends you have to be a friend. (Pr 18:24)
At
the end of that paragraph in 2 Corinthians that I quoted from earlier, there is
a verse that we often overlook. It
reads, “And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your
obedience is complete.” Nobody likes
punishment and discipline, but disobedience requires correction. A good friend is someone who will keep you
accountable for your actions on the battlefield and who will gently point out
your mistakes when you stumble in your walk with God. Note the word gently. As friends, everything in your relationship
needs to be marked with kindness and love, and remember, “Do not judge, or you
too will be judged. For in the same way
you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you. Why do you look at the
speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in
your own eye?” (Mt 7:1-3) Don’t be
judgmental or hypocritical under the guise of keeping your comrade accountable.
Also
notice the second part of that verse. “…
once your obedience is complete.” True
friends not only keep each other accountable, but are patient in allowing you
to make mistakes and learn from them.
People will make mistakes because we are imperfect beings. The last half of that verse really struck me. “… once your obedience is
complete.” Are we- am I- the kind
of friend that expects my comrades to be perfect without ever giving them a
chance to grow and learn how to come under the fold of God in obedience? That’s not the kind of friendship that David
and Jonathan model for us in their classic example in the Old Testament.
God’s
Word instructs us not to forsake the assembly of believers. (Heb 10:25) Get together with other brothers and sisters
in the Lord; support each other in the battle, build each other up with your
words, pray for one another. Be willing
to be used as an instrument of the Lord for Him to speak through you and
minister to your friend and likewise, be receptive if God chooses to speak to
you through your friend. A true friend
is a rare treasure and a beautiful gift.
“As iron sharpens
iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
“Hey,
Watkins,” a voice called out.
He
turned at the sound to see a man approaching to meet him where he stood at the
threshold of the barrack door. As he
drew nearer, Joe recognized him as one of the fellow soldiers in his platoon.
“Listen,
I’m sorry for stopping you,” John apologized.
“I just wanted to let you know that you did good work today. I know the sergeant was pretty hard on you,”
he added sympathetically.
Joe
nodded. “Yeah, I admit, even after boot
camp, being out here isn’t what I had expected.”
With
a smile, John gave the younger man’s shoulder an encouraging clap. “Everyone has to start somewhere… even
after boot camp. You’ll get a feel for
it soon,” he assured him.
“I
hope so.” Joe took a seat on the step
leading up to barrack door, his companion taking a seat beside him. “So you’re married?” he spoke up abruptly,
giving an indicating nod toward the wedding band on the man’s left hand.
John
nodded. “Married, and have a
seven-year-old boy, a thirteen-month-old daughter, and a baby girl on the way,”
he replied with a proud smile.
Joe
smiled. “Congratulations. How far along is she?”
“Five
months.”
“Well,
you won’t be around too much longer before going home on leave then,” Joe
remarked.
The
smile faded from John’s countenance as he sighed. “Maybe not.
I’m hoping to get time off not too far after she’s born.”
Joe’s
brow furrowed in concern. “You’re not
gonna be home for her birth?”
John
shook his head. “Probably not,” he
replied. He sighed heavily again, his
thoughts now miles away, and a brief moment of silence followed. “Well, how about you?” he finally broke the
quiet of the evening. He turned his gaze
to his young companion. “What about your
family?” he questioned in feigned light-heartedness.
“Well,
I just got here a couple weeks ago,” Joe began, “but I was living with my
parents still. And my sister Lauren…
Froggy,” he added with a smile. “When we
were growing up, she had a favorite kids’ book about a frog and loved anything
that had to do with frogs. I started
calling her “Froggy” and I guess the name just kind of stuck,” he
explained. “She’s fifteen.” He paused to retrieve his smartphone from his
pocket, and after several gestures made on the touchscreen, he held out the
phone and pointed to a picture of a man, woman, and a girl. “That’s her there,” he told John as he
pointed to the girl in the picture. “And
that’s my mom and dad.” He slid the
picture to the next photo, one of a golden retriever. “And that’s our dog Simon.”
John
watched the young man return the cellphone to his pocket, and noting the
wistfulness that shadowed Joe’s countenance now, he decided to change the topic
of conversation. “So what are your plans
for after you serve your term?” he asked.
“Truthfully,
I haven’t really given it much thought,” Joe confessed. “I just knew I wanted to come out here to
serve and see some action after I graduated.”
John
nodded with a smile. “I was the same way
when I first enlisted.”
“Have
you been in the military for a while?”
John nodded
again slightly. “About eleven years. Now that our family’s growing and our
situation in life’s changing though, Amy and I prayed about it, and we decided
it’d be best if I don’t reenlist again after this term.” He paused.
“I only have one more year before I’m a full-time family man,” he added
with a smile. Another moment
of silence passed before John finally spoke up.
“Well, come on. Taps is going to
be playing soon.” He rose to his feet,
Joe following his example, and together they disappeared inside the barrack.
NOTICE: I’d like to begin a prayer request listing at
the end of my posts, so if there’s anything you’d like prayer for, please let
me know through a comment box and I will add it to the bottom of my next
post. For privacy purposes, when I share
your prayer request, I will include only your first name. And I encourage you to let me know of
updates/ outcomes of the prayer needs you shared and I will publish them in my
post for the other Heart-chords readers to view.
~We’ve all
heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,” but heart-chords? I was struggling to decide what to name my
blog. I wanted it to be a name that was
both creative and meaningful. As I
pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic guitar where it stands in my bedroom,
and the Lord reminded me that our hearts- our lives- are instruments. They are constantly in song, but what melody
our heart plays is each of our own decisions.
They can play a melody for praise or for entertainment. A musician selects his songs according to his
audience. So do we. Whether our audience is the world or the
Lord, our song will be different. This
blog is designed to first, increase my awareness in finding God and His
guidance in my every day and second, to share the music lessons He teaches me
in tuning my heart to learn the chords of praise He longs to play on my
heart-instrument. Music is a powerful
tool. Use it for His glory. “He
put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in
the Lord.” Psalm 40:3
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