Battle Between Wills

Bernard Law Montgomery, a British Field Marshal who defeated Rommel in North Africa, says, “A battle is, in effect, a contest between two wills – your own and that of the enemy general.” (On War and Leadership, page 153)

How bad do you want to win the battle?

 ·  Are you willing to train?

 ·  Are you willing to gather resources?

 ·  Are you willing to sacrifice to attain victory?

An important attribute that contributes to eventual victory is the will to fight.

The military trains its men and women to develop a strong will to fight that exceeds that of the enemy. From boot camp to Ranger school, you are trained to ignore your flesh’s desire for peace and rest in order to strengthen your will to fight under any circumstances. You have a tremendous ability to deny your own desires in order to accomplish the task before you.

This battle does not just take place between two nations, or even two people, but this battle frequently takes place in our own lives. There is often a battle in my own life between what my flesh desires and what the Spirit of God who lives in me desires.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” -Galatians 5:16-17

How do you allow yourself to be trained to win this fight? In the military, you submit yourself to those who train you and you obey them. Even though every desire you have is to quit and give in to your fleshly desires, you choose to obey and remain in the training program. At intervals, you see what great results the training produces in you, which motivates you to continue to obey.

Why are you so willing to deny your desires in order to strengthen your will to fight for others? What do you see as your motivation? Your Nation; your family; the idea of freedom? Now picture Jesus standing before you as your Commander-in-Chief. Remember what He has done for you. Remember His desire to restore all mankind back into a loving relationship with Him that lasts for eternity. Remember that there is a battle among us between His loving intentions for us and Satan’s desire to deceive us into a life of death, rebellion, and loneliness. He asks you to trust Him. He asks you to allow Him to work out His desires and will through your life, but you must be willing to set aside your own desires, making His desires your desires.

 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”  Matthew 16:24

Lord, today I submit my life to You. I set aside all my desires that are not Your desires. I take up Your desires as my desires. Strengthen my will to fight against sin in my own life. Strengthen my will to love You and others. 

Love Points to God

 

It is always amazing to me to see a picture of a fully armed military man or woman standing next to a little kid. A friend of mine was recently in Iraq and he would send us pictures. One picture was of him fully armed standing in the middle of a schoolroom of little kids. They were smiling and seemed to not be disturbed by the firepower he carried.

Whenever I hear of people talking about the military as ruthless people who kill, I cringe. The military men and women I know are kind, protecting, and giving. They desire the best for all people of all nations. When I see a picture of a little kid smiling and standing next to an armed military man or woman, I can’t help but think that this kids knows this soldiers heart. The kind actions of this soldier have revealed to this little kid that Americans are kind and helpful.

One thing every soldier realizes is that their words and actions reflect to the world around them the heart of their military and nation. They are ambassadors.

What breaks my heart more is when I hear people talk about God as unfair, mean, distant, or uncaring.  How they come to these conclusions are usually stories about how they are treated by the church or other Christians. Our words and actions as Christians reflect who God is to the world around us.

Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

Loving others is not a new thing in the Bible, but the way it has been revealed to us is new. Jesus said to love others “as I have loved you.” The way He loved His disciples is now the new standard of love. And the world will know that you follow Jesus because of the way that you love one another. Our love to others reflects Christ love to the world. How people know Christ will be a result of your love for one another.

Soldiers are on display. They wear a uniform that says they represent the military and their words and actions reflect to people around them what the military is like.

Christians may not wear a uniform, but the way that they love one another will reflect to the world around them how much Christ has loved us. Their love points to God.