Month: June 2007

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior (Psalm 42:5)

One of our greatest fears as soldiers is NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare), especially the nerve agents. When we see the films of the poor goats exposed to agents and slowly twitch to death, it makes us very aware that this stuff is dangerous. But there is an antidote and if you inject yourself quick enough you’ll survive. Depression can be like a nerve agent. It can begin to dim the senses and paralyze positive thinking. Putting our hope in God and His promises is the antidote to depression.

‘In your anger do not sin’ Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

As a soldier I’ve been all over the world and I have seen a lot of awesome sunsets. Kuwait, California, Korea, The Carolinas, Egypt, Texas, Italy, Kentucky, all with their own beautiful sunsets. But they also have one other thing in common. We’re not to let the Big Heat Tab in the Sky go down with our anger still simmering. That means dropping your ruck of frustration before BENT (Beginning Evening Nautical Twilight). Sunset mean letting it go.

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We were training with Navy SEALs at Coronado, California and the obstacle course was getting a work out. Seems a little competition was going on between commanders. We had four consecutive runs at the sandy torture chamber and it appeared no one was winning. By the fourth round of affliction, my comrades and I had hit muscle failure and were doing more bumbling and stumbling than running and climbing. We had become weak, a tough thing for a young Ranger to admit. Certainly, we all have felt weak at one time or another. We run the obstacle course of life and sometimes we just get plain smoked. There are times we feel so weak, we wonder if we can make it another day. This is when we really get to see the strength of Christ in us. Call on Him and He will give you the strength you need to press on. (Phil 4:13)

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” (Luke 16:10)

Proud of myself and after much labor, I thought I had done a great job on making a new instructor assignment board. My Team Chief, a stickler for details, was quick to point out that the nametapes were not all the same length. A small detail that would certainly make the board look a lot better. He was instrumental in teaching me to pay attention to details. We also have to be very careful with the little things in our spiritual lives. We may start missing our weekly fellowship, or a daily devotion, or forget to pray. If we neglect these details, it hinders our fellowship with God. The smallest tasks may be the most important.