Dear friends, I greet you with the love of Jesus and thank you very much for choosing to read this article. I believe the Lord actually asked me to pass on the revelation He graciously provided in 2 Timothy 2:3-4.
Let’s look at what this scripture says:
“Join me in suffering, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one who serves as a soldier gets involved in civil affairs, but tries to please his commanding officer.”
Paul then asks believers to reflect on the above statements, so that the Lord can give them insight into them: amazing indeed! What is the perception Paul is talking about?
Imagine a scene from a regular Royal Marine Commandos training camp. The Royal Marines are amphibious infantry that specialize in warfare in the Arctic and in the mountains, but are capable of fighting on any terrain.
To achieve battle fitness, recruits go through 15 weeks of hand-to-hand combat: “Punches, strikes, kicks, and locks; scaling walls or climbing sewers, 5 a.m. runs, drills, monkey bars, relentless circuits.” of push-ups, ups and squats” followed by an “assault” course with a slide of death, climbing a 6-foot wall, and then rope challenges with names like “the abyss,” the four “command tests,” including the 30-mile one of eight. a brisk hour march across Dartmoor carrying a 30lb pack (a total of 32 weeks of blood, sweat and mud) aka training.
During this time, they learn some very important lessons:
We are showing you how the brain can beat the body. It’s about controlling their movement even when they’re fatigued, and when they’re in operations, that could make a life or death difference.”
Getting into battle fitness means learning to keep running, climbing, and crawling even when you have an injury (blisters, scrapes, bruises, torn calf muscles, ruptured biceps tendon, and a dislocated finger), a notion not encouraged by who train athletes and women.
No motivation required – follow instructions or risk a “beating” (a humiliating reprimand).
By the time I crawled through the last of the waterlogged tunnels, my hands were numb from the cold. That’s when it hits me: It’s all about telling yourself to just move on.
“It’s all about self-confidence,” says Terrill. “I had the mindset that he couldn’t deal with the pain, but they gradually changed that.”
But it is the emphasis on mental preparation that is most impressive and vital in a war zone.
The dropout rate is as high as 50% on these trainings, but those who go through the ordeal get amazing feedback:
Frightening and fantastic, he learned an extraordinary sense of power, gained shape and definition and a bigger engine, learned to be mentally tough, integrated into the four-part ethos of courage, determination, generosity and joy in the face of adversity. and best of all, we enjoyed!
As I thought of the cheerful spirit of these recruits who were willing to wake up as early as 5 am and do vigorous exercises for physical and mental training, I felt a sense of relief!
I related how the Lord had put me through much spiritual training to discipline me in godliness. I used to be controlled by my temper instead of being able to control it. I had trouble being nice to people I didn’t like. I couldn’t stomach it if someone spoke ill of me… I had been so powerless to change all my bad habits… I know better now, having experienced divine grace and being completely altered by my precious Lord.
How I owe all my peace to Him, how joyful my heart is in the silent contemplation of His precious Word, how joyful my readiness to help even my enemies. The Lord transforms you even when you are just waiting on Him… It happens so miraculously – you feel better every day as you bask in his golden love for you! This has been my experience and all this came so easy!! There was no effort involved, the precious Holy Spirit produced this transformation while I was in my life. It has been so much fun being trained by the Lord!
As children of our GOD, we are very fortunate to be endowed with such a loving Master. He is so merciful and so quick to forgive. He delights in us and calls us the Apple of His Eye! What a splendid GOD we serve… to top it off, the rewards are so great compared to the paltry benefits of a fighting force:
I have the joy of being with him forever, I can be satisfied and content the rest of the days of my life, I can sing his praises whenever I want, I can delight in his love and send him my loving greetings to do. So many things for me! I am so blessed and so are all of us who desire Him and Him alone! He wants us to see him as our commanding officer who knows that the orders he gives us will benefit us forever!
“For physical exercise is of some value, but godliness is of value for all things, having promise both for the present life and for the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:8
There have been times when I have found the commandments a bit difficult to follow and then received power from on high so that I could continue my worship without interruption. Those were the times when I have been refreshed by a divine encounter or an insight into the mind of GOD. I have had the pleasure of a better ME at the end! In short, the pain was just weakness that left me… The power of GOD was perfecting itself in my weakness.
“Because our light and momentary tribulations are achieving for us an eternal glory that far surpasses them all.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17
GOD always gives us the strength and grace to get ahead. In the end, we will be invited to the Kingdom where joy never ends and everything is made perfect! Isn’t that a goal worth working for? Yeah! We are going to walk towards TOTAL victory with a great sense of rejoicing, because the Lord, our commanding officer is faithful. Live!!!
Therefore, you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to appear. He will also keep you steadfast to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is God, who has called you to communion with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:7-9
Thank you Holy Father for the many blessings you have given us, even when we are not worthy to receive any of them. You expect very little of us compared to the normal price mortals are willing to pay, even for trivial benefits. How much more should we be grateful and bless your Name, because you are full of mercy, truly compassionate, forgiving beyond measure, full of love, we wish to revere you as you truly deserve to be revered… you are our commander! Officer, your words are very important to us! !
Your commands give us life, they train us to walk in stormy seas, when the enemy attacks, you are there to protect us from danger, your all-encompassing love is all we need for the rest of our lives… we thank you and praise you your name forever! We bless you and give our lives to serve you with a determined heart and joyful joy. Hallelujah!
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
All text in italics is taken from Susie Rushton’s Fighting-fit web link
