Survival
by Greg Carpenter
As I was reading my US Army survival manual, I noticed that there are some
very good lessons in it for us as believers. Some know the fact that we are in warfare, but if you don't believe there's
a battle raging between heaven and hell, you had better wake up before you become a casualty.
The fact is that we are unaccustomed to the idea of spiritual survival in this
hostile environment, which is our world. Survival, to me, means to make it home - or in this case, heaven - and to accomplish
all that God has given us to do along the way. So, with the help of the US Army survival manual, I will discuss some
allegories that may give us some insight.
"You must understand the emotional states associated with survival
just as you must understand survival conditions and equipment. In a survival situation, you and your companions, if
any, are the most important elements in determining your success or failure.
You have probably never given much thought to -
How do I react to various situations?
What do the various signs, feelings,
expressions, and reactions in me and in others mean?
What are my tolerances to different physical and mental stresses?
How can I maintain and use my abilities effectively to perform and to
control myself?
How can I influence my companions in a way that will help them and me?
Yet, knowing these things - knowing 'thyself' - is extremely
important in a survival situation and bears directly on how well you cope with serious stresses: fear and anxiety; doubt,
injury, and illness; cold and heat; hunger; fatigue; sleep deprivation; boredom; and loneliness and isolation."
The above was directly quoted from the manual. Let's take a look
at it from a believer's spiritual and relational standpoint.
How many different emotional states have we gone through as believers?
I can testify that at times I have been a roller coaster of emotions. I believe that knowing ourselves and having what
scripture calls "self-control" is critical to our survival. Self-control is an individual's control over his emotions.
Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit as indicated in Galations 5:23: "gentleness, self-control; against such there
is no law."
Learning to recognize how we react in situations and how we respond can
tell us some things about ourselves. Most people are at ease in comfortable situations, but when tensions begin to rise
we need to examine ourselves to see why we react and respond the way we do. Pride is usually the place we respond from,
and we know how God views pride, right? James 4:6 -"God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble."
I find it interesting that in most tense situations, within the context of a relationship, tensions can be relieved when we
simply respond with humility.
How do we respond in fearful situations; when in pain; when suffering
with an illness, loneliness, fatigue; when angry and under attack? By learning to recognize and realize our weaknesses,
our strengths, and our limits, we can begin to develop spiritual strategies to utilize our strengths as assets and to turn
our weaknesses into strengths.
Spiritual survival is a must; it is vitally important to every believer
to have a survivalist's mentality. The war is not over until Jesus comes in power, claims His bride, and all who have
died are resurrected into their new bodies and take their places in heaven. We cannot have a short-term outlook.
It must be for the duration of the war - which is, according to the Word, "raging."
Let's take a look at some of the dangers to survival. The first
is comfort; comfort is an attitude that would have you seeking the paths of least resistance and causes you to make comfort
your primary concern. Comfort can distract you from your mission and purpose, cause you to make unwise and foolish conditions
that can affect your outlook, and, primarily, cause you to be ineffective and more of a burden to those around you.
In the spiritual arena, by seeking comfort over Christ's commission and directive, we become ineffective at best, and a collaborator
of the enemy at worst. Evil wins when good men do nothing.
Comfort comes as a guest,
lingers to become a host,
and stays to enslave us.
- Lee
S. Bickmore
The next danger is a passive outlook; passivity is an unconcerned
outlook, resignation to your situation, complacency, and a lack of will and desire or ambition. I know a lot of people
who are passive in their approach to life and spiritual things alike. The most deadly, of course, is in the spiritual
realm. The world and the enemy would love the Body of Christ to be passive in spiritual matters; it makes his job easy.
"Let someone else do it." "Don't worry. It'll be ok." "It's not my problem." These are some typical responses
from passive outlooks. Some signs are mental numbness, resignation, quietness, indifference, lethargy, withdrawal, and
lack of communication.
To be passive is to be lifeless.
For what is the opposite of passive?
It is passion! Passion has changed the world.
The passive remain unnamed and forgotten.
- G.D.C.
Now here's the real question: where are we in regards to some of
the above descriptions and attitudes? Do we practice self-control? It's time to take a hard look at ourselves
- at our lives and our relationships. Are we even aware of the battle that is raging? Do we care, or are we so
comfortable and complacent that we don't care? Is our definition of survival "staying as far away from the war as possible"?
Do we handle the days with grace and humility? Have we taken the time to equip ourselves with the weapons that God has
provided for our victory and success?
You cannot escape from the war; you cannot hide from it.
If you are lukewarm, God will spew you out. Spiritual victory and natural victory come only from living, active faith.
Small steps with God can lead to great victories and the survival of all you love and cherish.
Here's a thought . . . if faith comes by hearing the Word of God, take
time to increase your faith by filling yourselves with the Word. Prayer is also a valuable weapon for warfare.
So is purity and holiness. A lifestyle of worship and devotion is a great way to begin to equip ourselves for survival,
and ultimately victory. Remember:
I Peter 5:8
"Be of sober spirit, be on alert.
Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour."
If you train yourselves up in the Lord, then when the time comes for
you to react to the many situations which life presents, your training will stand in the face of the adversary, allowing you
to resist him and bring victory where there was none before.
Joshua 1:8
"This book of the law shall not depart from you mouth, but
you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for
then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success (victory)."
The idea of survival is to win through to the end and gain the ultimate
victory at the last day when all who have battled and run the race will receive their prize! It's time to have a survival
mentality, so take up the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and be victorious in Christ!
