May 25, 2009
I’m a Clint Eastwood fan. I have seen almost all of his movies – many of them good, and many of them not so good. Heartbreak Ridge is one of those not so good movies, but there is one scene in it that is incredibly profound. I was in the theater years ago watching the movie and the Lord gripped me during this short scene as if to say, “This is a key truth that you need to remember.”
Here’s the scene: Clint is an old US Marine Gunnery Sergeant given the task of whipping into shape a rag tag group of recruits from the wrong side of the tracks. He leads them through an intense training regime to turn them into Marines. At this point in the movie he is leading them on a long run through the hills, and they start to fall back. After they round a corner on the trail, Clint steps out from the bushes behind them and starts firing an AK47 assault rifle at them. They all run for cover and listen incredulously as Clint gives this lesson:
“This is the AK47 assault rifle the preferred weapon of your enemy and it makes a distinctive sound when fired at you – so remember it.”
So where is the big spiritual significance? Here it is: most of the time we don’t realize when we’re under attack from the enemy. We don’t recognize the sound of enemy fire. We think it’s just our emotions, or just a bad day, or that we’re tired…lots of different things.
I was on a walk one time telling the Lord how lousy I felt and asking for help to get out of it. He helped me discern exactly what I was feeling – despair, discouragement and hopelessness. What I was carrying around as a “bad day”, evidenced by me feeling lousy, turned out to be enemy fire. When I identified the “enemy fire” in my life and rebuked the work of the enemy – despair, discouragement and hopelessness – I got free. My emotions shifted.
Now, I am not saying that every negative experience or emotion is the enemy attacking us, but I do think that he wields far more influence in our lives than we recognize. It’s time to be a little bit more alert and recognize enemy fire in our lives.
What is the sound of enemy fire in your life?
I Peter 5:8
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Strength and courage,
David