YOU ARE IN GOD’S MILITARY

Jeremiah 51:20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.

Just as God told Jeremiah in days of old, He is saying the same to every believer today. We are His battle axe and weapons of war. A battle axe was explicitly designed for combat and was used to chop and slash. A weapon is an instrument used in fighting a war which is an active struggle between competing entities. The way God designed our bodies enables us to use our various members (mouth, hands, feet, eyes, ears) as a battle axe and weapon in warfare. Our task is to learn the proper utilization of these members and apply them.

All believers are part of God’s earthly military. Age does not matter, nor socio-economic status, gender, or race. We are in a battle that requires our participation to win. God has planned to use believers, but many believers are only spectators. We must realize attacks are forthcoming; how we handle the attacks is up to us.

I have often wondered about our apparent defeat at the hands of the enemy. As I mused over this sad occurrence and prepared to write this blog, a light bulb went on in my spirit. Growing-up we sang a song, “I am a soldier in the army of the Lord,” however, I was just singing the words. The reality that I am a soldier and need to act like one escaped me. For all of a believer’s life, we are required to be in active duty. Understand this today, to be victorious in God’s army, there is no discharge, retirement, missing in action, reserve, or inactivity; you are forever a soldier.

I looked up information on military training, which allowed me to understand better  how I should be acting in God’s military. In America, there are five branches of service: Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Individuals have the opportunity to decide which branch they will join, but all branches provided them with similar basic training, which is the induction and indoctrination process of the military forces. Ultimately basic training is to reprogram recruits into warriors; you enter a civilian and end as a soldier.

In basic training, you have a training instructor and drill sergeant who are continually instructing, yelling, and telling you what to do. Your diet, sleeping, and movement are determined by others. You are drilled physically, technically, and psychologically. You have no freedom or privacy. Within the first several days, they shave off your hair to make you lose your identity and create a uniformed appearance. You are taught: military skills, military language, weapon usage, self-discipline, sacrifice, loyalty, stress endurance, and obedience.

To apply this spiritually, these officers can be likened to demons who are relentlessly harassing, bullying, and belittling believers. Demons see what you are doing; you cannot hide from them. Attacks come against your body, emotions, and mind. However, all of this is permitted by God. It is our responsibility to learn warfare techniques, understand spiritual language, discipline our self to stay active and alert in warfare, be loyal to God, endure as a good soldier, sacrifice our time and energy in this battle and obey the Word.

I encourage you to go on the internet and look up information on basic training. Study it, and utilize it in your warfare. Finally, remember while living on this earth, we are in a battle, so we might as well win it.