Surrender!
In July of 2005 I left the comfort of my home in Long Beach, California for the desert of Al Asad, Iraq. It was my first combat deployment, and I was very afraid. I went as part of the advanced party, which meant that I arrived about 30 days earlier than the rest of my unit. As part of the transition team, we were responsible for learning as much as possible about how the unit we were set to replace was conducting operations. It was my second day in Iraq, and I was at the operations building for a meeting when I first heard the sound of incoming mortars. You think you’re ready for it, until you realize you’re not.
We had spent months preparing for this, and yet when it happened, most of our training went right out the window. Some of us just hit the ground out in the open, hoping that somehow, we could become one with the ground and that it would protect us. My good friend Joey actually jumped behind a tree and locked and loaded his weapon. As if somehow his pistol was going to be just the thing to protect us against mortars and rocket propelled grenades coming from miles outside of the base. Others just started running, not in any specific direction (they had no clue where they were going) but it just felt right to run! Everyone knew we were the new guys just by our reactions, and the looks on our faces.
At the same time, by the reactions of those around us, we noticed those who had been there a while. They were mostly numb, there was hardly a reaction from them at all and I remember thinking to myself, “what is wrong with these people? This will never be normal for me.” Well fast forward just a few weeks, transition was complete, and it was the middle of the night. Rockets came in, and the first hit close enough that it woke me up, I opened my eyes, heard the alarm, and my guys looked at me and asked, “what do you want to do Staff Sergeant?” I don’t think my eyes stayed open more than ten seconds before I went back to sleep. The next morning it hit me, I had surrendered to the fact that I wasn't in control. My reaction was not going to change the outcome. Yes, you do what you can, but the fear is no longer that which motivates you. There’s a point of surrender when you are in situations like that, where you finally recognize that some things are just not up to you, and no training, or drills or anything you do, is going to really be able to help you.
Today, we are living in a time where most of the world around us is acting like we did as the advanced party back in 2005. This virus has hit us, and there are people hitting the ground, afraid to even move, there are those running in every direction, without even understanding what's going on or asking any real questions. We even have many, with their weapons ready to shoot at the first sign the enemy has penetrated the line. But my question is, “where are the Christians?”
We Christians are supposed to be the ones who are seasoned, the ones who are already living lives surrendered to the will of God. We Christians are supposed to be the ones who already recognized that we aren't in control in this life, it was supposed to be us, to whom the world looked when the bombs came and said, “What's wrong with these people? How can they be so calm in the middle of such chaos? That will never be us.” And we Christians should have been able to respond, “Yes it can be! Repent and believe God, trust in His Gospel that you to would have peace with Him and live surrendered to His will.” My fear is that we have at least partially missed this opportunity to show the world what we believe, and who is really in control.
But it's not too late for us to step up. The world is still very much afraid, but not us! We know the living God, the one who is in control of this virus, but even more importantly, in control of the whole universe. Because we know Him, we know that He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him. It's time for us to step back out into the open, it’s time for us to get back on the front line and not flinch when someone to our right or left is taken to glory. I am not saying we behave in a way that's irresponsible, but I am saying we need to behave like we believe in the message that we preach. Stop fighting, running, and freezing, get out there and show the world who God is, so that He may save some and receive all the glory. Surrender to Him, and let's live our lives as a living sacrifice, because Jesus was the final bloody one.