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Today is the day to be prepared for what’s coming

Our hearts and emotions have been on a wild roller-coaster ride. One day there’s the tragic news about an F-15E Strike Eagle being shot down. Thankfully, the pilot was rescued seven hours later. But the weapons officer, armed with only a pistol, was still in harm’s way with the enemy closing in fast. But two days later, he was rescued and brought home safely to rejoicing and thanksgiving.

And while all the people involved in the rescue are to be congratulated for a job well done, the foundation for this successful rescue mission started long ago. All high-risk Air Force personnel, including pilots, go through an intensive six-month training program called SERE (pronounced sear) for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.

And just so you know, this takes more than just a few slides and a YouTube video to get ready for what might happen. This rigorous training, in addition to learning to eat bugs, treat their wounds, and evading capture, is physically very demanding. I can’t imagine the mental and emotional strain of these hostile environments.

But you can’t be ready for something as serious as being shot down behind enemy lines based on training sometime in the past. Oh no. With each mission, the Air Force conducts SERE planning that includes preparation and contingencies for a rescue. These are discussed in detail and agreed on in advance of the mission. The crew would never be put in the position of just flying by the seat-of-their-pants when it comes to something as life-threatening as being shot down. There is a plan for evading the enemy, surviving, and executing an exit strategy.

Our Battle

All followers of Jesus are in a war with our enemy. And spiritual warfare is as serious as it gets. Why? Because the enemy isn’t just some guy just trying to make us late for church. We’re the target and they’re putting us in the crosshairs to totally destroy us.

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

1 Peter 5:8 CSB

Peter’s commanding us to actively and purposefully live sober lives. Not to be intoxicated by anything that can cloud our thinking. That takes our attention off what’s important. We need to be sharp and, on our game, because the devil is on the move. He’s actively looking for ways to swallow us up.

We don’t like to think about this idea of being devoured because we’re too modern. Too well educated. Too supplicated. But the truth is that our enemy devouring us is just like what happened in Jurassic Park. Remember attorney Donald Gennaro being eaten by the T-Rex while on the toilet? Or programmer Dennis Nedry being torn apart in his Jeep by a Dilophosaurus?

As frightening as these scenes are, they are mild compared to the lives that have been devastated by the devil. He’s not to be ignored. We can’t think that we’ll somehow just handle it if it comes.

SERE Training

While we are very thankful for the SERE training that the Air Force gives its pilots, most of us will never fly an F-15. But every Jesus follower is going to be threatened and tested. To be attached. To be shot at. And when “the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16) are flying, it’s almost too late. We need to be in the business of being prepared for that day. Here is our SERE training that we need to take very seriously.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:10,11 NIV

• Spiritual. We are to exercise and become stronger spiritually. We need to invest time, energy, and effort to gain spiritual skills and strength. This means practice and repetition. We are even commanded to “train yourself in godliness” (see 1 Timothy 4:7).
  
  
• Empowered. As the old hymn says, “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing”. It’s not our weak and feeble power but God’s mighty power. His power that resurrected Jesus from the dead is the same power He give to us who believe (see Ephesians 1:19,20).
  
  
• Resist. We are to take our stand and keep standing. When the pressure and temptations come, we’re to resist the pressures to move. Just like David wrote, I have placed the Lord always in front of me Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved (Psalm 16:8).
  
  
• Encounters. The devil doesn’t just have one idea to take you down. He has schemes, and lots of them. We have to be on the lookout for wave-after-wave of one attack after another. One encounter with evil followed by another. And another. We are to be on guard and awake (see Mark 13:33).

Being prepared is vitally important. And I’d never say anything to somehow minimize it. But we can prepare and prepare till the cows come home. We can have all the dress rehearsals that you can think of. But eventually, you have to put it into practice. The rubber has to meet the road if you’re going to drive somewhere. You need to get into the game. You have to actively and personally participate in the great spiritual struggle that’s going on all around us.

Fight the Good Fight

Some of us find the idea of fighting easy. Some of us really don’t like the idea at all. And others will run away from anything resembling a fight. But no matter who you are and how you feel, fighting is not an option. When the faithful follower of Jesus comes to a spiritual battle, our orders are clear.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12 NIV

This good fight isn’t an option. It’s not a suggestion. We are to be presently and actively fighting the good fight. Not just fighting to fight but fighting the good fight. This isn’t just fighting to be a bully. It’s God’s fight. For His victory. For His glory.

It would be one thing to fight and win in this life. But God’s eternal and unmovable promise is the great reward of eating from the tree of life for everyone who overcomes (see Revelation 2:7). I can’t speak for you, but I want to please the one who loves me. Who died for me. And that means fighting the good fight in His name.

Chet shares Jesus through speaking and writing on a wide variety of practical subjects. Chet’s new book, ServeLife^® – How Serving Others Unlocks the Life You Were Made For will be available this summer.

People who positively respond to Chet Gladkowski, deeply love their grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He writes from a very practical, daily living standpoint. Everything he writes points us to Jesus, the one who died for us. Each calls us to please the one who first loved us. He serves through www.ChetGlad.org where his blogs and Bible teachings can be found in text and audio. His new book, “HOPE is the Key – Living Through God’s Superpower”  and his brand new book coming out, ServeLife^®.

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