All Clear in the War Zone
7/19/16
This phrase is one that comes as a farce to those who have been involved in any type of combat situation, yet it is one that we like to believe that we continuously live in during times of war. While many people know about war and all of the devastating effects that it brings, many do not. Do we even understand all of the issues that bring about war and its magnitudes to our lives? Do we even know that there is a war going on and is it publicized adequately? God wants us to remember that our eternal lives are at stake and we have an enemy that wishes for us to believe that everything is ok around us so that we do not fight for what is right. So far, he has done a pretty decent job in establishing that concept and until we return to God, we shall live under this false pretense of the all clear signals that our enemy is sounding.
Another anniversary of the beginning of World War I is vastly approaching and for some people still living, that memory is a haunting thought. But for the majority of the people in the world today, WWI is a faded afterthought because there was no direct influence or consequence to what occurred in those fields. Many push that Germany was the sole instigator of this war, along with WWII, and while they played an influential role, not all details strung from that nation. I find it amazing that some of the more complex issues of that time period occurred outside of Germany and Austria and how the world quickly lined up against her for a bloody and horrendous fight which brought about the phrase “the war to end all wars”. We all know that this phrase turned into one of the greatest lies mankind has ever spoken, but it is what not occurred in Germany that fascinates me and supports this topic that God wishes for us to understand a little bit more.
While Germany was one of the major contenders of WWI not one bit of fighting occurred on its homeland soil. It is true that Germany committed many atrocities during this campaign and some of those heinous offerings began a new concept in warfare that has been used a couple of times since. There is nothing disgust for any military or national government to use chemicals as a means to incapacitate the enemy in order to annihilate those who oppose your lines of embarkation. Yet the tactic was so effective that it stalled allied advances and even though Germany and her allies lost this terrible world war not a single battle was fought on German soil. It was this non-act that confused many people in Germany about the endgame consequences because most of them had not personally witnessed what transpired on other shores, a truth that brought out much anguish and anger towards other countries when punishment was doled out to their lands. Look what this action spurned just a few decades later, a more devastating action that led to further national division and world devastation.
Fast forward to the late 1980s and I find myself volunteering for the United States Air Force, a duty which I greatly loved and recommend for any able bodied American teenage. I part of my basic training included a couple of days at the obstacle course field exercise site where according to its name provided a challenging setting in which I could face one day if ever a war broke out. From the quick glances we were allowed to have of this course it looked like a daunting task but one that was manageable for up until those days our instructors had prepared us physically and mentally for those challenges that were pressed upon us. But it was not until we began to challenge this course itself did we realize just how deterrent it presented as we advanced through its veins.
One of the parts of this course that continues to stick in my mind today is that of where we had to crawl on our bellies, under razor wire with some sort of animal guts hanging down from those wires, in the mud with live rounds firing over our heads as we trekked our way through this muck. While we were never in any real danger at that moment, it was nerve racking to know that while you were eating dirt and water with live bullets were flying over your head that could easily penetrate your body and change your military career or end your life if one actually hit its “target”. It was this process that really set into motion that I was now in the military and that my life had totally changed from civilian conditions. Ironically, this obstacle course and all it presented was the only time that I ever dealt with true combat experiences.
Many other parts of basic training stand out in my mind and every once-in-a-while these memories surface and I relive those tactical teaching moments for my life. One of these issues concerns about being prepared at all times for what an enemy may throw at you. An enemy’s job is to defeat you no matter how strange and unusual those tactics may be. We may not be looking for the type of combat that our enemy brings, but we still need to be as prepared as possible to thwart these attacks. One of the more sinister ways that an enemy can use against us is to bring accurate, surprise, and deadly sneak attacks while the peace flag or all clear standards waving in plain sight.
One of the main points of information that our instructors drilled into our heads was that even though the enemy was not actually attacking our positions at that moment, and the all clear “bells” had been sounded, we could guarantee that they were plotting and planning to complete such action. It is the job our enemy to plan such attacks no matter if these acts would be successful or not. The enemy is just that, our enemy and it is his job to destroy our state of readiness at all costs and one of the effective ways that he accomplishes this is to strike when our guards are down and we are relaxed.
Hollywood has produced some great themes concerning war and how the combat settings have transpired, but through my dealings with WWII, Vietnam, Korea and Gulf Wars veterans all of them say that real combat cannot be truly described unless you physically (1st person) experience it. I believe them and do not question their words because they have been there and I have only watched movies. I gather that through their words and brief descriptions of those settings that the sneak attacks on a “relaxed” outfit come as complete surprises and result in the more devastating consequences. While any combat death is horrific it is easier for the soldier to accept the consequences when the bullets are flying in both directions; a fair fight if you wish to claim it in those terms. But when no bilateral attacks are ongoing and the enemy strikes a position that is in an all clear mode, a new level of destruction occurs in which the affected soldiers present a new anger. But whose fault is it when these attacks occur and how does this aftermath tell of the overall preparedness state of our military?
As any military command will admit, any type of all clear settings has the potential to create disasters that include deaths and it is through these types of settings that produce the most distasteful consequences. Yet, when these heinous attacks occur it should propel us into a constant ready state so that the same type of act cannot be committed again. Even with all of the training, talks, and examples that have been thrown at us during basic training, there were still times that we let our guard down just enough that we were caught empty-handed, so is the setting of an all clear standard during a war. The enemy is smart and they know your tactics and standards of fighting, they also know your moral codes and how we live by them and it is the enemy’s job to instill a sense of immoral attitude in order to sympathize with the surroundings in order to complete his all clear attacks, thus creating the most devastating results.
A question to pose is this: do we understand that our spiritual enemy and eternal enemy perform these same types of maneuvers and attacks on our lives? We have a great source of these types of sneak attacks or all clear attacks in the Bible, one of these examples occurs in the Garden of Eden and another occurs in the life of Job. However, one of the more thrilling attacks occurs in the nation of Israel – not just once but many times over their Old Testament time period. There wee many instances that we read about when Israel was living in a great state and basically had everything going for her on a continual basis. I find it very intriguing that during these times that nation chose both good kings and bad kings and that when a stretch of bad kings was in charge, devastating issues arose in the lives of Israel. Do I find this as a coincidence? No way!
While God allowed Israel to choose their king, this action of bad choices set up a priceless opportunity of their enemies to lick their chops in their plans against Israel. You mean that our eternal enemy uses the minds and wills of other humans to inflict his destructive means? Absolutely!! Because we must always remember two things about what occurs in the spirit realm: the first being that we – our lives – are the only thing possible that God can use to change the hearts of mankind toward Him, and the second is that our enemy does not care how he achieves his goal of the death of our lives no matter if it is physical or spiritual, death wins in his book. One of the best ways that Satan can achieve his goal is to lure us into a pacifistic mode concerning our real surroundings and if one looks around with clear eyes and a truthful heart they will understand that this all clear setting is present in our societies.
As our all clear status becomes stronger and longer it becomes easier for our enemy to appear to loosen his grip on our situation. Many firebases in Vietnam were attacked in this all clear status resulting in some of the worst battle conditions during that conflict. The same situation has been put into place in this country over the past few decades of my life and through the spiritual eyes that God has sharpened within me, I am witnessing repeated attacks by our enemy during an all clear status that we are voluntarily ignoring. It is through this setting that we have been conned into believing that everything is still ok and that there is no need to worry for in a short time, along with a few changes, everything will return to normal. Well, the new normal has occurred and its standard has been set and if we could have a look-see from above we could actually see our enemy crawling on its belly, steadily and methodically closing the gap towards our perimeter.
In the examples that God gives us through the actions of Israel, it is clear that it was strictly through their choices that they were subject to the nations around them and the eventual destruction of their nation more than once. The last time their nation was scattered to every corner of the known world and was not completely reunited until thousands of years later. Their lackadaisical attitudes towards God and His laws put them to sleep and relaxed their perimeters, both spiritually and physically, enough to allow the enemies to walk into their confines and totally wipe out their existence without any great loss. It is this type of “all clear” setting that we have allowed our live, both personal and national, to become and it is only a matter of time until we have completely watered down our defenses enough that a sneak attack from our enemy will overpower us and conquer us without any great loss. Do we understand that this type of setting has already been in place and has occurred?
The truth is that we have already been attacked in this manner and we have totally ignored what occurred and more importantly WHY it occurred. We contend that God works in mysterious ways, but we usually attribute this phrase to the good things He does in our lives. We need to remember that His ways are just and complete at ALL times which means that He can and will allow bad things to occur; whether He personally directs these events or allows others to complete these tasks. This might not settle well with some, but as our pastor spoke this week using Jeremiah 23 where it states that God is our righteousness, this means that EVERY act that God does or allows is RIGHT! I encourage you to read that passage because it really pertains to our situation and status today.
I can guarantee that God sent many warnings to the children of Israel before He had to do something against their sinful ways. God never just brings on national judgment in order to please His whimsical ideas, for He is not one who sits in a far away place and points His finger at all of the wrongdoings and with a gavel strike condemns mankind’s actions through death; God always chooses life and it is us to keep this standard first. One of the most heinous crimes that Satan can commit is when he has tricked a person, group, denomination, state, or nation into believing that everything that they are doing is approved and accepted by God, even if their actions go totally against God’s Word.
Our enemy understands the consequences, both physical and spiritual when God has to say enough and has to take a stand against His Ways. When God reaches this point and has to act, Satan then comes in and “finishes” the job with further heinous acts in order to further our discord with God. Satan does not care about the circumstances we have put ourselves into, in fact, he loves it when death and destruction enter into our lives, so much so that he gets a huge belly laugh out of it. It is this separation from our eternal Creator that Satan wants us to have for he understands that the results of his false all clear status and resulting societal conditions will produce a resounding argument for further separation from God. This all clear status is why God provided His Laws in the Garden of Eden, it is why He provided prophets in the Old Testament, that is why He sent His only Son to the earth, and it is why He sends us out to the dying world.
The all clear state is the perfect one that our enemy wants us to live because it is in this state that he can manipulate our lives enough away from God through his evil sneak attacks. It is this condition where God speaks to His children in order to warn them that impending danger is around and that they need to continually sharpen their weapons of war for the enemy is weighing heavy around their positions. Many times we get caught up in the selfish contentions of the all clear setting and push away these warnings of God, which further place us in peril because the enemy knows the required standards of the eternal and pure Commander. It is the job of our enemy to place us into this all clear setting so that he can manipulate our lives easier, this setting also serves his purpose because it reminds us of how good God wants us to live but without the truth of God being the source of our living conditions.
This is why God wants us to study His Word fervently, continually and without a human bias. For if we do not completely understand the “whats and whys” of our enemy, we shall fall into the no man’s land called the “all clear setting” of a war zone that he lays out for us. No one likes war but it is essential for us to gather the facts and place these facts on the table of our heart so that we can have a true battle plan for this enemy, and come to the realization that we constantly at war for our eternal placement; our enemy is not for us, only God is and it is only through His way that we shall overcome this all clear lie in a war zone lie. Now is the time that we open God’s Word up again and begin to change our ways back to God. We are His people and we must contend that if God allows certain inflictions to occur on His one created nation, He surely shall allow similar charges to be leveled on those who do not repent.
DLB
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