Train Like We Fight!

  One of the reasons that Marine Corps bootcamp is so tough is that it looks to prepare Marines for the worst of possibilities during war time. The harder the training, the better prepared you'll be. Even after boot camp, much of our training was built around the idea that we must "train like we fight". In other words, you can't just go at it halfway in training and then expect for the other half to kick in when the real thing comes. It doesn't work that way! In fact, it's often the opposite, when the real thing comes much of your training can go right out the window. That is, unless, it's been so deeply engrained by your training that it has become second nature! It's because of this Marines will train without sleep and food while someone is yelling in your face, this kind of stress prepares you for the real thing by pushing you to your base instincts. If the training is done right, your base instincts are what you've been taught.

  I don't think this is simply a Marine Corps principle though. We see it in other places of life too, whether it's the musician who practices all day and night in order to give a great performance. The athlete who trains all year long for a season that only lasts a few months. On and on the examples go, in the real world we recognize that people will only rise to what they already know and very rarely do people go beyond that. But why is this not the case within much of the church today? Many Christians treat their spiritual disciplines as being behind a "break in case of emergency" box. They don't read daily, don't pray regularly, aren't in regular fellowship with brothers and sisters, don't really have a relationship with their pastors and elders, but yet somehow expect it all to just fall into place when "the crap hits the fan!"

  If this is you, I want to issue you a fair warning, IT WON'T! When the storm comes, because it will come, they always come, if you haven't been training properly now, you can only expect to fight as good as your training has prepared you. During my time pastoring I noticed something about those who managed trials well against those who did not. If their prayer life was strong before the trial, then it remained strong and often became stronger during the trial. If they were in the word before the trial, then they threw themselves in the word during the trial. But those who were weak before, often grew weaker when the trials came. It pained me to see brothers and sisters struggling so much, not so much with the circumstances, but rather struggling with the only thing that could bring comfort in the midst of their circumstances. 

  In 1st Timothy 4, we see a glimpse of this in Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, where he encourages him to, train himself for godliness. The idea is to do that which you are supposed to be doing all the time, don't expect to be godly when a specific opportunity presents itself, but godliness is of value always! (my paraphrase) Many of us have lost sight of this, we see prayer as valuable only when things get bad, bible reading is something we do, when we have time, fellowship is the time either before or after church, if we don't consider the service itself as the time for us to check off that box. So, when trials come, we don't know how to act, because truth be told, we just don't know how to act!

  But it's not because the scriptures haven't given us all that is necessary to navigate all of life. We have exhortations to pray always and without ceasing, to meditate on the word of God day and night, to be transformed by the renewal of our mind, to not forsake the gathering, to encourage and build each other up. No, scripture is absolutely sufficient, and contains all that is necessary, the problem is us. We need to wake up, because while we were sleeping, there was a fight that came to us. What we see in our culture now is partially the result of Christians who weren't prepared for a fight. The church has been caught with its pants down, and the culture has come on in and taken significant ground from us. Marriage has been redefined, people are living in constant fear, churches are being told they can't meet with Pastors bowing the knee to government, etc.

  If you have watched this and asked yourself, how can this happen? We have allowed ourselves to grow content in enemy territory, our training has been weak, and the enemy has taken advantage. We have no one to blame but ourselves. But the fight is not over, it's not too late! Jesus will continue to build His church which means we must pick up our crosses and start to train like we fight. The benefits of doing so are countless, not only will you find courage and boldness, but you will be setting yourself up on solid rock to weather all storms. 

  Trials come in all different shapes and sizes, some hit us right at home and others hit us in a much broader context. But nevertheless, it's the same training that sees us through. To my brothers and sisters, I want to plead with you to start training harder than you ever have before. You may not feel like it, I get that. I didn't feel like it during my time in Parris Island either, but I didn't regret any of it when I got to Iraq! Trust me, you don't want to be on the other side wishing you had trained harder. So, train like you fight and be prepared for everything that life will throw at you while also taking back that ground the culture stole from us. There is nothing at all for you to lose, and only the kingdom of God to gain, let us all begin to train like we fight!