Lessons From Boot Camp

681- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 22:35,36- “He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. ( 2 Sam 22:35,36) This passage takes me right back to my boot camp days in the Navy. In Boot camp our hands were taught to make war. We were given small arms training and training in hand to hand combat. Physical fitness was also a high priority. We double timed everywhere and built up our upper body strength as well. I entered boot camp weighing 162 pounds and came out at 187 and honestly, it was the best physical condition I was ever in. I was able to “bend a bow of bronze.” We learned how to “shield” ourselves from shipboard enemies such as fire, flooding, and chemical warfare. And it was the “gentleness” of the company commander that made me great! Don't laugh! I mean that! The word gentleness here means browbeating. I can't tell you how many times Company Commander Fleming was right up in my face attempting course corrections for my attitude and failure to comply with his orders. It was quite humiliating, but then that is perhaps the most important part of military training. It is vital that self be laid down in the military for the sake of the unit and the battle. And it is vital too, if we are going to have any success in our ongoing battles with the evil one! It is as John the Baptist said of Jesus. “He must increase and I must decrease.” This browbeating or gentleness is all part of the process of breaking down pride and fostering the humility that God desires in His soldiers. The Law browbeats us in that it shows us how far short we fall of the glory of God, and it opens us up to the flow of grace from God which is the heavenly help we need to succeed. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And it's in His grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are able to obtain victory!