Sep
6
Keep On
Filed Under Devotional
I happened upon a documentary the other night that was following a class of soldiers as they went through Army Ranger school. Aside from making me feel very old and very lazy, I was thoroughly impressed. The training seems like torture to the layperson, but it makes all kinds of sense to me to train that way. The goal is to make it very unlikely that these guys will ever experience anything this difficult in actual battle.
I was impressed with how one team handled a war game they ran where they were to assault an enemy outpost in the bush and extract an enemy agent. At one point, the bulk of the group was pinned down and the attack was slowing down. The instructor started telling the viewers what was going wrong and what needed to happen. At that moment, the leader of the assault saw the problem, initiated action to get the team moving again, and grabbed the momentum. They went on to succeed in their mission.
I was struck by how movement meant life. Staying stationary or trying to hunker down just made them easier targets. Maintaining motion and momentum put the enemy on the defensive and kept the team alert and effective.
I am beginning to challenge myself to see my relationship with Jesus like this. I cannot become spiritually sedentary. I cannot stop and decide that I want to defend the ground I’m on and not gain any more. I cannot give up and tell Him to go on without me.
My relationship is about movement and growth and achievement and accomplishment as led by my Lord.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” Matthew 16:24
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1
Don’t stop. Don’t dig in. Keep on moving. Keep on growing. Keep on following Jesus.