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Bullets zipped past him on all sides. The chaos created by the enemy attack was indescribable. They were surrounded. Wave after wave of enemy troops assaulted their position. The dead and wounded were everywhere. They were being overrun.
There was no escaping the horrors of war.
In the midst of chaos he lay amidst cover with his weapon – shooting with a camera instead of a gun. In his zeal to capture the real story of war he was being swept up into the battle. An officer grabbed him and pulled him to a ‘safer’ location. But on this day there was no safety to be had. The enemy was everywhere.
Cowering in the midst of enemy fire, disoriented and wondering what he had gotten himself into, he was frantically trying to figure out what he should do next…
It was then the M-16 landed on his lap with a sickening thud. He looked up in surprise at the officer who dropped it there and exclaimed,
“I’m a non-combatant sir.”
The office looked down at him with sober understanding of the gravity of the situation they now found themselves in and responded,
“Ain’t no such thing today boy!”
This scene from the movie We Were Soldiers has a poignant lesson for us, in that we find ourselves in a similar situation. Open war is upon us whether we would risk it or not. The battle we are engaged in is unseen. It takes place in the spirit realm, but that makes it no less real. We see the carnage of our unseen enemy’s hatred, jealousy and rage in the lives of people every day.
Thanks be to God that our enemy was defeated at the cross. However, the enemy has not been dispatched, and will not be until Revelation 20. Until then we must step into the victory purchased for us by Jesus and engage in the battle in His authority in order to experience the life He has for us.
The option of being a non-combatant does not exist for any man who wants to apprehend that for which he has been apprehended by the Lord.
Scripture is very clear about the spiritual resistance we can expect as followers of Jesus. Revelation 12:17 tells us that the enemy has declared war against those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. We are also told that the enemy is like a roaring lion looking for people to devour. He is out to steal, kill and destroy all the life God has for us.
Being a non-combatant is not an option if we want to really live.
We must choose to take up the weapons the Lord has provided us to overcome the strategy of the enemy in our lives. What are those weapons? Well, they are numerous: the Word of God, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the cross of Christ, prayer, personal holiness, our testimony, remembrance, generosity, praise, worship, thanksgiving, fasting, confession, encouragement, forgiveness, humility, repentance, blessing, unity, obedience, tithing, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, wisdom – to name a few.
The first step in overcoming the strategy of the enemy in our lives is to settle the issue that this side of heaven we are in a spiritual battle from which we cannot escape. The second step is to choose to be a combatant; neutrality and passivity are not an option. The third step is to commit to the learning and training necessary to be an effective freedom fighter. The fourth step is simply to fight for the life Jesus purchased for us and for others through us.
It is imperative to realize the fight is not our mission. Our mission is the freedom and life promised to and purchased for us by Jesus, but it must be fought for. A Kingdom warrior cannot love war, he must love peace because that’s what he’s fighting for.
May we be the freedom fighters Jesus has called us to be and fight to see His government of righteousness, peace and joy established in our lives and in the lives of those for whom He has called us to fight.
Yes, we are called as combatants in the struggle to see God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on the earth as it is in heaven.
Hooah!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Ephesians 6:12
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Colossians 2:15
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”