A soldier prepares for war begin long before he goes anywhere near a battlefield. As a matter of fact, if he does not prepare beforehand, he is likely to die in battle, and be the cause of other soldier’s deaths or injuries as well. In like manner we must prepare a head of time for a crisis that could come our way.
Preparing for War
Where is the first place the military sends a new recruit? Straight into bootcamp. No detours. No layovers. No easy office jobs. You cannot even be a janitor until after you have entered and survived bootcamp. Why does the military do this to fresh enlistees? Are they wanting to be mean or intimidate them? Although most bootcamp residents will tell you there is a lot of that going around, harshness is not the end, it is the means to the end. In the end, the purpose of bootcamp is to ready the recruit for the battlefield. In mind and body, this new soldier must be taught and conditioned so that he will survive the conditions he may likely incur. Bootcamp is by definition, preparation for war.
What is the top priority for these new recruits the moment their boots hit the ground at bootcamp? What is the most important task for sergeants in preparing soldiers? Is it getting them in top physical shape, or teaching them military skills? As important as these things are, they are not number one on the list.
The most important thing that a soldier will learn at bootcamp is to stand under authority.
It is essential that a soldier hears a command and obeys it without questioning it or using his reasoning mind in any fashion to process it. He must obey without responding in any way to the thoughts or emotions he senses at the moment. In bootcamp, a soldier learns he will choose to obey authority, or obey his own emotions and thoughts, and that choice bares great consequences. In time, he will obey immediately and completely – he will stand under authority. In this way, the military can execute orders down through the chain of command and the task get accomplished. A soldier who is in perfect obedience is the most usable to his higher command.
Just like a soldier, we need to learn to stand under authority. God’s authority is the highest authority in existence, and learning to walk in perfect obedience to Him is our top priority in life. When we are obedient, the Spirit of God can lead us with no more than a whisper and we will do as He says. As soldiers in God’s kingdom, He can use us on the battlefield to reach the lost and help the brokenhearted. If we are led by Him, He is able to lead us quickly out of danger or straight into the heart of battle, and we are most usable by Him because of perfect obedience.
On the Battlefield
A soldier cannot simply be told, “always obey your commanding officer" and then be sent to the battlefield to do it. It takes practice. It takes a transforming of the mind to be able to obey without question or responding to emotions such as fear, anger or shock. It takes conditioning in order for him to choose to obey authority and not be dictated by emotions or thoughts. Just as his body must be trained physically, his mind must be trained to stand under authority.
With enough time and training, a soldier may have learned well to obey authority under simulated circumstances in bootcamp, but the real test comes when he heads out into a real battle where real ammunition is flying, the stakes are high, and emotions are flaring. It is in these conditions that the training proves real, because obedience – or lack of – has real-life consequences.
You must learn to stand under authority of God the same way a soldier learns to stand under his commanding ranks. When you hear God’s voice, when His spirit is wanting to lead you, but your thoughts raise logical disagreements or your emotions are screaming to be obeyed, the choice you make has dire consequences.
Christian Prepper Provision #3
You must be trained to stand under authority and do what God leads you to do no matter how much your thoughts argue or your emotions scream. You will serve only one master. Either your logic and emotions will be your master or God will be your master.
You know that in a time of war or any type of crisis, only God can possibly know the best decisions to be made. You want him to lead you. You want to be in the safely of the shelter of Most High God (Proverbs 91). But your logical thoughts will demand acknowledgement. Your emotions will insist on being obeyed.
Just like the soldier, you cannot just tell yourself that you will now obey God and then walk on the battlefield of life. As soon as your logic opposes God, or an event flares your emotions, you will find that your untrained human mind is weak against such a worthy opponent. Like the soldier, you need time to transform and condition your mind to be able to obey without questioning or responding to emotions such as fear, anger or shock. It takes conditioning in order for you to have the ability to stand under authority and not be swayed by emotions or thoughts.
You have nothing to loose and everything to gain, because you stand under authority of the King of Kings, the heavenly high-commander, the one who knows all and is all. There is nothing your brain can add to God’s knowledge, and it is foolish to question His authority or His commands.
It is imperative that you start now acquiring this item to add to your war-time provisions. Now is the time to practice total and complete obedience to your holy commander-in-chief. Now is the time to learn to stand under authority – God’s authority. Like the soldier, the real test comes when a crisis has begun, the battles are real, and your emotions are boiling over into fear. It is in these conditions that the training proves its value, because obedience – or lack of – has serious life consequences.
This is a series of posts designed to prepare the Christian for the possibility of global war, as well as for the war we call “life." Please be sure to sign up for updates so that you can receive notifications when these posts are published.
Previous Posts:
Introduction – A Christian response to WW3
Christian Provision #1 Total Trust in God
Christian Provision #2 Know God’s Voice
Christian Provision #3 Stand Under Authority (Current Post)
Christian Provision #5 – Coming Soon
August 18-20, 2017. Cocoa Beach, FL All the details are here!
I am a veteran and have considered myself a “Prepper” since about 2000.
I love your insight and the way you present the most important aspects of being prepared.
I wish it was mandatory for all of us to go through “boot camp” when we first start out.
Keep up the anointed work.
I agree! If we all had this kind of bootcamp from the beginning, it would have saved us all a lot of trouble! Thank you for the encouragement!