Thoroughly Equipped
On April 6, 2003, an Army Special Forces A-team, along with a few other Americans, encountered a vastly superior enemy force at a remote but strategically essential crossroads near the little village of Debecka, Iraq. The American force consisted of just over two-dozen Army Green Berets, three Air Force controllers, and two Military Intelligence sergeants.
The initial enemy force they encountered included four T-55 main battle tanks, eight armored personnel carriers, plus about 150 soldiers carried in half a dozen big troop transport trucks. In addition, the Iraqis also had heavy artillery support on call and a reserve force of six more T-55 tanks and twelve more armored personnel carriers. Unlike some of the enemy units encountered in Iraq, this one turned out to be well trained, well equipped, and well commanded.
Equipped with eight Humvees, and two SUVs, the Americans were armed with rifles, a few heavy machine guns, and a few grenade launchers – the force was lightly armed and highly vulnerable. They had nothing to withstand the blast of a tank or an on-target artillery shell. Their only other resources included about a dozen of the Army’s brand new Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and the ability of the Air Force controllers to direct close air support.
Most ordinary light infantry units that found themselves outnumbered over five to one and outgunned by such a heavy armored force would have turned and run. But Green Berets don’t like to run. This team in particular, from the 3rd Special Forces Group, had decided before the war began that they would never run from a fight, and they didn’t run from this one – despite the apparent odds (Information taken from Roughneck Nine-One, by Sgt. 1st Class Frank Antenori and Hans Halberstadt).
Since the very beginning, I guess, the tactic of our spiritual enemy has been intimidation. He parades his “superior force” before you and dares you to venture out against such an unbeatable enemy. The Egyptians during the days of Moses, the Midianites against Gideon, Goliath the Philistine giant – they all tout the same line. I’m big, I’m scary and you cannot defeat me.
The Green Berets in the story above decided they would never run from a fight. That decision influenced the way they trained and prepared for deployment. Their resolve to never flee from a battle changed the way they equipped themselves before boarding the planes to Iraq. I’ve been meditating on what it means for a Christian to refuse to run, and what does it mean to equip oneself for the battles we’ll face. I have a much different perspective on “fighting spiritual battles” than I’ve had in the past. I used to picture loud, violent prayers and the rebuking of all kinds of evil. I would regularly use words like “bind” and “loose” and “rebuke” and “command.” Maybe you’ve had more success than me, but with these tactics, I’ve often felt like I’m just spraying T-55 main battle tanks with machine gun fire – noisy and exhausting but totally ineffective.
I’m treading lightly here – all those words I put in quotes are certainly scriptural. Jesus himself has originally communicated those concepts. Let me remind you of a verse to try to put this whole discussion in context:
The Green Berets in Debecka, Iraq, performed precisely as they had prepared. They put their weapons to their fullest use, destroying two tanks and all of the armored personnel carriers with their Javelin missiles. They piled up the dismounted Iraqi infantry with the fire from their grenades and their machine guns until the remnants scattered from the field of battle. It was a victory of such significance it has already made its way into Special Operations battlefield legend. 2 Timothy 3:17 clearly states that the way we become “thoroughly equipped” is through our willingness to be changed and redirected as we come to know God’s Word.
Don’t just read the words “bind” and “loose” and get all nuts about binding and loosing. The greater message of God’s word concerning spiritual warfare is, “This battle is not your’s,” God says. “It’s mine!” I’m resisting the urge to keep this short in order to help equip you for an intimidating force that is waiting for you just over the next rise.
It’s time to abandon the angry-at-the-devil prayers and be corrected by the Word of God. Jesus’ battle meant our victory. We don’t fight. He did. Isn’t that what it means to be “more than a conqueror?” The conqueror was engaged in the battle. Jesus bears the scars of the cross and of the spear for all eternity. We simply enjoy the victory. 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Emphasis added).
For the Special Forces team in Iraq being thoroughly equipped meant trusting their training and refusing to be intimated. It meant putting their weapons to perfect use based on the capabilities they’d learned during their preparation. Running down the hill to take on tanks at close range would be suicidal foolishness! They didn’t need to do that.
For us, being thoroughly equipped means entering every battle with the understanding that all we need to do is take refuge under the loving wing of a powerful God. You’ll hear the bombs going off – a thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you!
I’m urging you to abandon the idea that you’ll “take on the enemy” because of your deep prayer or your violent rebuking. I’m urging you to surrender yourself and your cares to the love and faithfulness of God. Begin to pray differently. Begin to pray:
Lord, this battle is not mine. It is your’s. I’m going to hide myself in your shadow until the shooting stops. I don’t want to be moved from your love no matter what the enemy looks like. You love me. You Love Me! You have given your angels charge over me. Nothing shall by any means harm me. I’m not going to be drawn into a battle that I can’t win – I’m going to take shelter in your secret place, the secret that you fight for me.
In the meantime, just open the Bible. If there is any need for reproof or correction or instruction, he’ll provide it through those holy pages.
Peace.
SJB
The initial enemy force they encountered included four T-55 main battle tanks, eight armored personnel carriers, plus about 150 soldiers carried in half a dozen big troop transport trucks. In addition, the Iraqis also had heavy artillery support on call and a reserve force of six more T-55 tanks and twelve more armored personnel carriers. Unlike some of the enemy units encountered in Iraq, this one turned out to be well trained, well equipped, and well commanded.
Equipped with eight Humvees, and two SUVs, the Americans were armed with rifles, a few heavy machine guns, and a few grenade launchers – the force was lightly armed and highly vulnerable. They had nothing to withstand the blast of a tank or an on-target artillery shell. Their only other resources included about a dozen of the Army’s brand new Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and the ability of the Air Force controllers to direct close air support.
Most ordinary light infantry units that found themselves outnumbered over five to one and outgunned by such a heavy armored force would have turned and run. But Green Berets don’t like to run. This team in particular, from the 3rd Special Forces Group, had decided before the war began that they would never run from a fight, and they didn’t run from this one – despite the apparent odds (Information taken from Roughneck Nine-One, by Sgt. 1st Class Frank Antenori and Hans Halberstadt).
Since the very beginning, I guess, the tactic of our spiritual enemy has been intimidation. He parades his “superior force” before you and dares you to venture out against such an unbeatable enemy. The Egyptians during the days of Moses, the Midianites against Gideon, Goliath the Philistine giant – they all tout the same line. I’m big, I’m scary and you cannot defeat me.
The Green Berets in the story above decided they would never run from a fight. That decision influenced the way they trained and prepared for deployment. Their resolve to never flee from a battle changed the way they equipped themselves before boarding the planes to Iraq. I’ve been meditating on what it means for a Christian to refuse to run, and what does it mean to equip oneself for the battles we’ll face. I have a much different perspective on “fighting spiritual battles” than I’ve had in the past. I used to picture loud, violent prayers and the rebuking of all kinds of evil. I would regularly use words like “bind” and “loose” and “rebuke” and “command.” Maybe you’ve had more success than me, but with these tactics, I’ve often felt like I’m just spraying T-55 main battle tanks with machine gun fire – noisy and exhausting but totally ineffective.
I’m treading lightly here – all those words I put in quotes are certainly scriptural. Jesus himself has originally communicated those concepts. Let me remind you of a verse to try to put this whole discussion in context:
…You have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17 New King James, Emphasis added).Doesn’t it seem like Paul is telling Timothy that the key is to know the Holy Scriptures? For Timothy, this knowledge began at childhood. Maybe you didn’t get that kind of jumpstart, but I’m sure you’ve been in and around the Scriptures for a pretty long time by now. I’ve been a student of the Bible (not just going to church, but literally a studier of God’s Word) for 20 years. Do you know what astounds me the most about the Bible…? How much I realize I don’t know each time I read it. Every time I open its pages I’m reproved or corrected or instructed. My doctrine evolves. I abandon things that don’t work all the time. I think this is a good measure of the Word’s influence over our lives – What have you abandoned lately? How has the Lord reproved or corrected or instructed you through his Word?
The Green Berets in Debecka, Iraq, performed precisely as they had prepared. They put their weapons to their fullest use, destroying two tanks and all of the armored personnel carriers with their Javelin missiles. They piled up the dismounted Iraqi infantry with the fire from their grenades and their machine guns until the remnants scattered from the field of battle. It was a victory of such significance it has already made its way into Special Operations battlefield legend. 2 Timothy 3:17 clearly states that the way we become “thoroughly equipped” is through our willingness to be changed and redirected as we come to know God’s Word.
Don’t just read the words “bind” and “loose” and get all nuts about binding and loosing. The greater message of God’s word concerning spiritual warfare is, “This battle is not your’s,” God says. “It’s mine!” I’m resisting the urge to keep this short in order to help equip you for an intimidating force that is waiting for you just over the next rise.
- Colossians 2:15 states that your enemy has not only already been defeated, but he has been disarmed, plundered and openly embarrassed.
- In John 16:13, Jesus says that we have no reason to fear because this world and its evil lord have been robbed of the power to harm us.
- Psalm 91:3: “Surely He shall deliver you…”
- Verse 5: “You shall not be afraid…”
- “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot” (Psalm 91:10-13).
“Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place…” (Psalm 91:9).It’s time to abandon the notion that we’re capable (or even supposed to be capable) of fighting a spiritual enemy. Daniel couldn’t do it – Peter couldn’t do it – Paul couldn’t do it. Adam and Eve couldn’t even defeat the devil despite the perfection of their pre-sin existence and the perfection of the Garden of Eden! There is an overwhelming message hidden within each of these examples. The angel Michael was dispatched to fight Daniel’s battle for him. Jesus told Peter, “But I prayed for you.” The Lord revealed to Paul, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” This battle is not your’s, God says. It’s mine! God told the serpent in the Garden that his fate was sealed. Jesus was coming to crush his head. Doesn’t that sound like the manifestation of Psalm 91:13? …And the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
It’s time to abandon the angry-at-the-devil prayers and be corrected by the Word of God. Jesus’ battle meant our victory. We don’t fight. He did. Isn’t that what it means to be “more than a conqueror?” The conqueror was engaged in the battle. Jesus bears the scars of the cross and of the spear for all eternity. We simply enjoy the victory. 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Emphasis added).
For the Special Forces team in Iraq being thoroughly equipped meant trusting their training and refusing to be intimated. It meant putting their weapons to perfect use based on the capabilities they’d learned during their preparation. Running down the hill to take on tanks at close range would be suicidal foolishness! They didn’t need to do that.
For us, being thoroughly equipped means entering every battle with the understanding that all we need to do is take refuge under the loving wing of a powerful God. You’ll hear the bombs going off – a thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you!
I’m urging you to abandon the idea that you’ll “take on the enemy” because of your deep prayer or your violent rebuking. I’m urging you to surrender yourself and your cares to the love and faithfulness of God. Begin to pray differently. Begin to pray:
Lord, this battle is not mine. It is your’s. I’m going to hide myself in your shadow until the shooting stops. I don’t want to be moved from your love no matter what the enemy looks like. You love me. You Love Me! You have given your angels charge over me. Nothing shall by any means harm me. I’m not going to be drawn into a battle that I can’t win – I’m going to take shelter in your secret place, the secret that you fight for me.
In the meantime, just open the Bible. If there is any need for reproof or correction or instruction, he’ll provide it through those holy pages.
Peace.
SJB
Scott Bane
3 Comments
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (3)
I picture the battlefields like you see in the movies. You know, the warriors are always out in front and the king and his captains are always sitting on their horses in the back out of harms way. I believe the Lord has called us to be sitting on our horse, along side Him, at the back of the battle - just to view it. He already knows the outcome. The devil is trying to call us onto the battlefield from the other side to engage us in a skirmish who's outcome has already been decided. If we bite and buy the distraction, we pay a price that the Lord never intended for us to pay.
We've all heard about the spiritual weapons before out of Ephesians 6, and how that all the weapons mentioned are DEFENSIVE weapons, all except for the sword.
I think there are two weapons NOT listed there that are vital for us as believers. They are peace and joy. We are continually admonished to hold our peace,and not get excited. We know that Nehemiah 8:10 says that the JOY of the Lord is our strenth. If we lose our peace, our joy and our strength usually follow- right out the window.
You touch quite a bit on PERSPECTIVE here. Let me add some. When taking everything into consideration, the "bombs" dropping, the attacks, etc, if we look at this thing with an ETERNAL perspective, every one of the enemy's weapons is a DUD. Think about it, just like out of Col 2:15 - there is NOTHING HE CAN DO TO CHANGE OUR ETERNAL POSITION. Nothing. Isaiah 54:17 doesn't tell us the weapon wont FORM, it just tells us it wont PROSPER.
I think people that have grown in their faith and received the revelation NOT to lose their peace and their joy are people that see things with an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. It takes a KNOWING to be able to do that. (Rom 15:13) They have learned to TRUST GOD, see the battle as won, and choose to stand back and just watch the Lord at work. I'm on my way to that place. Thanks P.S. - this was an awesome entry. I'm going to read part 2!