Waging War

As  an NCO there were many times we sat down during both peace times and war going over plans trying to establish the best way to approach whatever the given situation was from training to clearing a set of bunkers were we might encounter enemy soldiers. Now I have been out a while but knowing the military it probably has not changed much except having what they think is better intelligence than we had 20 years ago. But each one of these sand table talks we would go through would ensure that each leader knew exactly what there part of the mission was and it helped to ensure that the plan was sum what feasible. We used to apply Murphy’s Laws of Combat rule number one; “All plans were great until the first shot was fired.” Than it might go crazy. I always thought that most of these meetings were a great waste of time for me and my soldiers. What I did not understand was the real purpose of it. It was to ensure that every person from the company commander to the last private would be able to carry on the mission if they had to. It also allowed for feed back to the commanders before the mission to prevent any surprises that the command did not know about like being low on ammo or a vehicle that was broken down. This morning I found a Biblical reference to something along those same lines. It is reiterated several times in Proverbs but let me share this one first it is found in Proverbs 20:18,

“18 Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.”(ESV)

I started here because as often as we might here it we fail to recognize the fact that we are involved in a war daily. We might not believe it to be physical but to be honest when war is waged on a spiritual level it takes a toll on the physical world. But the real issue at stake is where we turn for counsel. Do we trust the right people to provide us counsel so we are prepared to wage war both spiritually and physically?

“6 So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.” Proverbs 24:6 (NLT)

I am sure you have all been told to seek godly counsel as you follow Christ but I can tell you not everyone who professes Christ has your walk with God as their priority. We are after all just people. We might be saints redeemed from sin but we are still people. Often we allow personal desires to prevent us from following after or providing the right counsel to others as it will benefit us personally. It is important that as we seek counsel we look for those who are not just Yes people. There is no way to know how many wars and battles have been avoided because someone said NO when asked if something seemed right. It is even scarier to me how many battles have been fought that could have been avoided because people had personal motives to see the fight come.

I leave you with one more Proverb,

 “14Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” 11:14 (ESV)

Ensure that you have people who will tell you the truth not just what you want to here. Just a personal example; several people called me to tell me my son had been using drugs. I failed to listen because I did not want to believe them; in the end it was true. My desire to believe what I wanted about him prevented me from seeing the truth and heeding godly counsel. Don’t allow yourself to become blind to the obvious or to block out those around you God has sent to guide you even if they don’t always agree with you. Have a blessed day as you walk in the Light of God’s Word.