How Good a Soldier Are You?

                                                                                                                                           

You are in the army of God.  Are you ready for battle?   Are you following His orders?

Hay, General your battle plan really stinks!  No way am I going to follow it.  I’ll do it my way!”

Rank insubordination?  Disobedience to authority?  You’d better believe it!  In wartime that soldier would be a prime candidate for the guardhouse and probably worse.

Our “war machine” would grind to a halt if our soldiers decided to do “their own thing.”

They must follow the orders of their leaders.

An army has leaders who plan out the best strategy possible to defeat the enemy.  The then issue orders to carry out those plans.  They have information—sometimes even secret documents—about the enemy’s plans and movements that the soldiers know nothing about.  This “inside” information helps them make much wiser decisions than the uninformed soldier.  This is how victories are won.

As Christians we are engaged in a spiritual warfare.  This is the most serious battle of all, more serious than any battle nations can wage.  The army of God is warring with the hosts of satan.  Ephesians 6:12 states:  “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against, principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  We are in the battle for men’s souls.  Their eternal destiny is at stake.  Winning souls and defeating satan should be the desire of every true believer.

Have you ever tried to defeat satan in your own power?  Did you?  Could it be that satan outfoxed you because you misjudged his plan and power?  Satan is crafty and full of tricks that we have never heard or thought of.   After all, he’s been around a lot longer than we have.  Ezekiel 28: 14,15 tell us something about satan’s life before he fell.  “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee  so:  thou was upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in the.” 

Our enemy is powerful.  In fact his hunger for more power was his downfall.  (Isaiah 14: 12-14 tells the story.  “How art thou fallen from heaven.  O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How art thou cut doen to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:  I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”  From our standpoint he is much more powerful than we.  Only through the power of Christ can we hope to defeat him.  First John 4:4 states:  “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Just as no soldier would think of going into battle unarmed,  Christians should not face satan without being armed with our spiritual weapons.  Yet, day after day, we go into battle without our weapons or armor.  To be sure, these are not physical swords and shields, they are spiritual weapons.  It would be a lot easier to know we were properly prepared for battle if we could  see them,  however; they are more powerful than any physical weapon.  David did not have nay real physical weapons (unless you call a sling and stone weapons against a giant), but  he had his spiritual armor on.  As you recall, Saul tried to give him physical armor, but David refused it.  He was out there in the power of God, and he wanted to be sure everyone knew it was God’s victory.  Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 6:11-17 to put on the whole armor of God.  We must have our armor on  and God’s power to defeat satan.

Also , we have a leader who can supply us with a winning “battle plan.”  He is omnipotent and omniscient God who knows everything before it ever happens.  He knows where satan is going to strike next and can give us the means to defeat him.  However, He expects us to ask, and then He expects us to follow what He tells us.  If we don’t ask for His help, we will be hopelessly outclassed by the enemy.

Let God make the battle plan.  He know satan’s plans and can give us strategy to win in victory.

Just as the human army cannot function if every soldier decides to do his own thing, neither can God’s army function when born-again believers go their own way and  don’t  seek  God’s  leading and guidance.

As God surveys His army, I can’t help but think He is saddened to see so few out fighting the enemy.  The rest seem to be on permanent R & R (rest and reaction) or fighting among themselves over petty differences.  God will not force us to defeat satan.  The choice is ours.

If God’s army would start following His orders, we would see a revival like there has not been in many years.

By L G Davies