A False Sense Of Security

One of my favorite Max Lucado books is "In The Grip Of Grace." I have given it out to many new converts. I think it helps to establish a good foundation by enforcing God's incredible goodness and grace toward us. It is often what brought us and it is what keeps us when the bottom falls out.

But grace alone does not condition us for the fight that lies ahead.

We recently went through another class for improvised explosive devises (IED). I sincerely did not want to sit through another power point presentation and lecture on these things. We have had it several times in the last 6 months.

In the middle of it I pulled my phone out and played a little "brick breaker" (game). I got convicted; knowing I was not setting a good example and put it away. I made it through the rest of the day without incident.

The following day we reported and were going out on a convoy lane that had IED's planted all over the place. We were to employ the tactics and training we had received for this scenario. I was still pretty confident.

It wasn't long into the exercise before it all broke loose. They tore us up in a hurry. We broke down and failed to perform under stress just as they had anticipated we would.

They warned us, we failed. We started listening different after they told us they would reset the lane and we would do it again. Hands went into the air. Men were asking questions, planning, and plotting. It felt very serious the second round. We improved much, they told us we would.

It is an amazing flaw in the human condition that allows us to discount the warnings of others. Is it rebellion, arrogance or some crazy concoction of the two? I don't know. But I do know that it is universal. It affects the whole human race.

The spiritual application of this is very simple and similar. We cannot accurately know our own level of performance for our king. All we can do is train like the big test is tomorrow. Instead we often blow off the many warnings of the Scriptures and fail to apply the wisdom and teaching of those who have gone on before us. We under estimate the hatred and strength of our enemy and we are made ineffective and unproductive in advancing the Kingdom of God on behalf of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Paul cries out to us as soldiers of the cross to take our training seriously (2Tim 2:3-4; 1Cor 9:7). He knows and has experienced the price that must be paid to advance the Gospel. He often uses competitive and even combative language to instill the correct attitude in his readers. The testimonies and teaching in the scriptures will save lives. If we want to succeed and receive the praise of our King we are going to have to daily assess ourselves: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Only then will we have the wherewithal to approach the battle in full armor and after having done everything
to stand your ground, stand firm. (Eph 6:13).