After graduating from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 1965, I had already made up my mind to accept my commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army over pursuing a professional career in baseball. Back in those days, that was the honorable choice and I never looked back on what could have been.
After my officer’s basic training and secondary training as a communications officer, I was stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso as the Headquarters Company commander for the 1st Training Brigade. In October 1966, I found myself headed for Vietnam and into battle.
I’ve never been one to run away from adversity. That’s the way I was raised in a military family by a father who was tough as nails. He taught me well and expected perfection from his oldest son. Even though I never came close to reaching his standards, striving toward that raised bar helped me immensely in business and life in general.
When I accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord, I found myself humbled and extremely thankful to have been sought by God. Over the past four decades, I’ve gradually been transformed into the man God wants me to be, but I’m nowhere near complete in that metamorphosis.
Often Christians are referred to as sheep simply following their Shepherd. Sheep are one of the dumbest beasts on the face of the earth. The good news is this: If we closely follow our Shepherd, He can take us and change us into mighty warriors of the Lord.
That’s exactly what we need in these days as we witness a boisterous minority of protesters and malcontents destroying much that’s been built over the past few centuries in our country. It’s time we take a stand for what we know is right and not hide from the dangers that confront us all!
Some in our midst would love to take away the freedom and comfort we experience here in the United Stated of America. It’s time to stand strong and resist the evil that could potentially cause our government to crumble all around us.
Let me share the story of Gideon found in Judges 6, 7 and 8. The angel of the Lord came to Gideon and told him that God wanted him to lead the tribe of Manasseh against the Midianites. Gideon quickly responded that he was the least in his family and his family was the least in the tribe of Manasseh.
Our God often works with those who feel they have little if anything to offer. With the Lord’s help Gideon and only 300 of the original 32,000 men assembled for battle were victorious in routing and eventually destroying the combined armies of the Midianites, the Amalekites and other eastern tribes in the Valley of Jezreel.
As we read about Gideon, we can see this humble servant of the Lord gradually transformed into a mighty warrior and leader of Israel.
In Judges 8:22-23 we read, “The Israelites said to Gideon ’Rule over us — you, your son and your grandson — because you have saved us out of the hand of the Midian.’ But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you, The Lord will rule over you.’”
For the next 40 years, as long as Gideon lived, there was peace in the land.
I truly believe that our Lord wants all followers of Christ to become mighty warriors of His Truth. As a nation, we are, in the words of civil rights activist and community development leader Robert Woodson, in “moral and spiritual freefall.”
The question we need to consider is “What can we do about our dilemma?” We must pray for our Lord to protect us with His mighty angels from the spiritual warfare all around us. We must take a stand for what we know is right and consider civil disobedience if necessary. We must come together with others in the many in the silent majority to ensure that all that’s good in America remains for all peoples.
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrategies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.