GET IN STEP, SOLDIER! GET! IN! STEP!

A Militarized 'Father-Son-Spirit' Trinity Point of View

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." -Galatians 5:24-25 (Emphasis mine)

Imagine a drill instructor in his best R. Lee Ermey, from Full Metal Jacket, voice barking marching commands to a platoon…

“Hut” – The left foot hits the ground.

“Two” – The right foot hits the ground.

“Three” – The left foot hits the ground.

“Four” – The right foot hits the ground.

“GET IN STEP!!!  WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION??? GET IN STEP, SOLDIER!!! GET! IN! STEP!”

 “…NOW!!!”

As the drill sergeant barks the rhythmic cadence commands, the 40 to 60 soldiers’, sailors’, airmen, or marines’ feet hit the ground in uniform fashion, creating a unanimous and thunderous thud, then the cadence repeats.    

Close your eyes and imagine a unit of military personnel, four men wide by 10 to 15 columns long, marching by.  Every individual foot and arm swings the same exact direction at the same exact time in unison. It creates a strong picture of cohesive unity. To witness and hear this in action is completely beautiful and awe-filling.

It takes weeks of intense extensive training to arrive to this point of discipline, though.  Learning the drill instructor’s unique voice, specific (foreign-to-the-outside-world) commands, and the conditioning of the mind eventually creates a second-nature rhythm within the body.  This doesn’t happen overnight, though.  Many hours in elements of heat, cold, beating sunlight, and/or rain are spent outside of the barracks shaping and conditioning on a hard asphalt or concrete “drill pad” (basically a huge parking lot-looking area to practice marching and military drill movement procures). 

But… Let one’s feet, within the disciplined marching formation, become off-rhythm or “out of step”, though.  That commanding drill sergeant’s keen sense of detail promptly hones in on the non-conforming, against-the-grain individual’s lack of rhythm and causes him to bring the unit’s forward progress to a complete halt.  Correcting and molding begins.  The drill sergeant immediately begins a loud vocal, and possibly physical, confrontation to create a speedy, remedial fix.  As soon as the fix is implemented and in effect, the drill sergeant forgives/forgets the misstep and eventually, when the soldier is fully military trained, would give his life or reputation for this brother-in-arms.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." –Romans 12:2 (Emphasis mine)

This mind-conditioning process creates a neurological, second-nature cadence that commands the body’s limbs to instinctively, swiftly, and militantly react upon a barked command.  This intensive training drives separate individuals to becoming an interconnected, one-unit, uniform machine. Again, the sight of this is completely amazing.

 

Metaphorically, what does this mean?  What is going on, here? How does this relate to life?

The metaphoric depiction: 

The Drill Instructor (Corrector/Forgiver):  The Father - God

The Marching Unit:  The Holy Spirit

The Out-Of Step Individual:  Us

The Drill Instructor (The One Who 

Will Sacrifice for the Soldier): The Son - Jesus Christ

The Barked Commands/Cadences:  The Word of God

Metaphorically, relating to real-life, correcting and molding can [and will] happen when we become out of step with the Holy Spirit’s direction. When a Christian becomes out of step with the Holy Spirit living inside of them, [who continually guides the conscience in a definitive direction], it can bring halts, confrontations, and hardships to life. 

Think of the many times you may have journeyed against the naturally occurring direction your conscience instructs.  What consequences did it bring?  Did feelings of guilt, adversity, and thoughts of, “I should’ve/shouldn’t’ve…,” possibly flare?  Did it give birth to adversity, calamity, or sin? Did it create a long-way around to an eventual destination?  And in that journey, was discipline endured? Sometimes, maybe nothing at all occurs until later or ever. But always,  thoughts linger of disobeying what we've read in the Word (the Bible) and marching against what naturally occurs inside of us: the Holy Spirit's guidence.

Jesus tells us this about the Holy Spirit: "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever -the Spirit of truth... But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."-John 14:15-16, 17, 26

God definitely allows us to endure discipline, through various forms, to hone and correct us, or, in other words, to bring us back into step with the Holy Spirit.  He does this because He loves us and considers us His children. 

"Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all." -Hebrews 12:7-8

One small decision, good or bad, can create a domino effect of benefits or consequences throughout the future.  One drop of water, collecting more water drops, forming a stream, building momentum, forming a small river, thus gaining more momentum can create a river the size of the Mississippi River, leading into the Gulf of Mexico. 

"Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." -James 1:15

Or…  What about when we know we have obeyed, though?  How great is the feeling in knowing that we’ve kept in-step with the Holy Spirit? 

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers." -Psalm 1:1-3

Yes, and of course, through the Son, the Father can and will forgive and restore us through repentance.

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." –Colossians 1:13-14

How do we fuel our actions to do right? The best way to do this is through submerging ourselves into reading and meditating on the Word of God, praying, listening when the Holy Spirit instructs our conscience to become one with "marching unit", and doing as Paul says in Galatians 5:25, because we, as Christians, are...

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus,” and through salvation, we, "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Don't Throw Yourself to The Wolves!

Introduction

Intentionally putting ourselves in temptation's way to "withstand trials" to in-turn grow is not what God intends for us via James 1:2-4.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  -James 1:2-4

What does this mean? 

Facts, According to Scripture

God will give us the measure of what only He intends for us to endure.  

Many of us in our walks' "baby Christian" phases may have read the above passage, misinterpreted, and took matters into our own hands.  This misinterpretation may have caused us to put ourselves close to temptation's fire or trial to harden and refine ourselves.  In doing this, we are actually hurting and not helping God's plan for us; we are getting in God's way. 

God has an intentional set plan for us.  His plan for our life includes how He will refine us, what storms He will allow us to face, and what doors He will open for us to walk through along the way.  Simply put, there are some things that God may never intend on us to face.  Loading ourselves down with burdens we choose could cause us to wither as opposed to being patient, taking things as God allows, and growing on His timing.

For example, how many people do you know have actually succeded from partaking in a "get rich quick" scheme?  If you do know someone who did, it is pretty rare.  On the other hand, how many established businesses or corporations do you know of grew slowly, gained a reputation, and sustained their strength and stature?  They're existent all over the world. More situations like this exist than the other.  Good, steady growth often yields more than erratic, spontaneous, and unpredictable growth.

"'...A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.'" 

-Matthew 13:3-8

Facing trials on purpose is like standing in -20 degree weather and expecting not to get cold; if we stand there long enough, shivering tremors will eventually ensue.  If we choose to walk close to the fire of temptation and sin, we will eventually fall in. 

In God's eyes, our personal desire for growth is probably very commedable and surely God appreciates our desire to progress, but He calls us to totally rely on Him. 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  -Philipians 4:6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6

So, if God refines us on His timing, then why should we set ourselves up to fail through impatience?  Instead, we can relax and take the storms as they come as God chooses them for us, knowing that He brought us to it.  And if God brought us to it, guess what?  He will bring us through it.  Whether it is more or less than we can handle, God will be our strength to pull us through it as long as we follow and trust Him.  It will cause us to grow.

Even Paul (an apostle who wrote much of the New Testament) had to learn how to get out of God's way and rely on Him:

"...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

-2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Further Perspecive

In Exodus, the Israelites were commanded to follow God through the desert to the promised land.  God used a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  The generation that entered the desert never made it out; for fourty years, the Israelites wandered through the desert.

But why?

The generation that left Egypt exercised wavering faith in God and kept turning away.  What could've very well been, with obedience and faith, a 240 mile, 10-20 day trek through the desert became a 40-year journey.  All God asked them to do was basically, "Get behind me...," or, "Follow me..."  Lack of faith turned them away from the promise was directly in front of them.   Furthermore, God desired to lead the Israelites and He was visibly in front of them.  What more could they've asked for?  Nowadays, what more could we ask for?

 Conclusion

We don't have to "live and learn".  Get behind Jesus and follow Him.