Category: God Can Use You More Than You Think He Can

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A New Spin on an Old Story

I’m pretty sure COVID is never mentioned in the Bible, but the book contains lessons we can apply to our current circumstances. I’m actually kind of surprised this hasn’t occurred to me before.

After centuries of God telling His people, the Israelites, that they need to straighten up (and centuries of them not doing it), He finally dropped the hammer on them. He warned them time and again, but they’d ignore or even kill the prophets. Once He had enough of it, He allowed the Persian Empire (Babylon) to raid Jerusalem and carry away most of the people as captives back to Babylon.

Many of the people refused to accept what was going on. They’d been brought up to believe that as Jews, God favored them. While true, that’s only part of the story. God selected the Jews to be His people, but warned them many times to follow His ways and pursue Him. By failing to do that corporately, over and over again, God finally had enough and allowed Babylon to serve as his instrument of judgment.

Still some chose not to believe what was happening. These people started giving ear to false prophets that popped up. One of them claimed (Jeremiah chapter 28, paraphrased) “Everybody, take heart! God will deliver us from this and we’ll be back home in Jerusalem inside of two years!” This message, though false, appealed to the people, so they believed it and threw their support behind prophets that proclaimed this message.

God, however, intended for these exiles to stay in Babylon for 70 years, and He didn’t hide His intent. Now, if you’re one of these people, living in a foreign land against your will, you’re going to live your life differently if you believe you’re only going to be there two years than if you believed you were probably going to spend the rest of your life there. Of course God wasn’t going to let this be the end of the Jews, but He works on His own timeline, not the one that people decide He should.

To help set the record straight, God had Jeremiah write them a letter. Paraphrasing from Jeremiah chapter 29, the prophet writes “look, everybody, you’re gonna be here for awhile. Build houses for yourself. Plant gardens and eat the stuff that grows in them. Get married to each other and have kids, and give those kids away in marriage. For now, this is your normal. No, it won’t always be like this, but that’s what it is for now.”

That’s our modern-day tie-in. The basic question here is “how many people have put off or canceled major life events because of the current circumstances?” Countless weddings have been postponed, untold numbers of students missed the opportunity to have a traditional in-person graduation ceremony, and it’s simply impossible to know how many other major trips or events have dropped or otherwise been put on hold.

The deeper question, and the one that has a more permanent impact, is “what God-honoring things have been put off or canceled because people decided that the world no longer met their definition of what the world should look like?” There are obvious things, like the cancellation of church services or outreach programs, but there have been varying degrees of success regarding the thing that have taken their place. For example, most churches this past summer probably either completely canceled or had a greatly scaled-back version of Vacation Bible School (VBS). Children are especially open to hearing about what Christ has done for them, and it’s important that Christians reach them. The challenge is addressing the same needs through different means, and the missed opportunities come when there’s no attempt to fill the gap.

That’s just an example. There are elementary-age needs, middle-school-aged needs, high-school-aged needs, needs for singles, for engaged or newlyweds, for men, for women, for families, for widows/widowers, for seniors, for professionals, for stay-at-home parents, and countless sub-groups of any of these demographics. The world needs you…whether it’s your creativity, your technological savvy, a spacious or special property you own, or a brand new idea that can be used to reach people in the name of Christ…this is your opportunity to step out in faith and make an eternal difference.

In this season of COVID, remember not to live like you’re still in Jerusalem. For the moment, we’re in Babylon, and we have to live out our Christianity and witness to non-believers within the parameters of our Babylonian environment. Build houses, plant gardens, and pursue long-term relationships. We may be here for awhile or we may not, but either way, we don’t have the option of letting the ministry opportunities stop. You might be the only thing that an important new undertaking is waiting for.

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When a Fail is a Win

Strange times we’re in. While there are many people that no longer have the job they held a month or two ago, many others now work from home. For those folks, the reality is that sometimes they just can’t produce the same quality from home that they’re able to at their normal place of business. I don’t advocate for shoddy workmanship, but it’s important to understand that if you’ve turned in low-quality work of some kind, all is not lost.

We’ve heard many times that God can take terrible things and use them for good. It’s like saying God loves us. We’ve heard it so many times we lose our appreciation for what it means. What if I told you there’s a story in the Bible where God used someone’s poor-quality work to both glorify Himself and accomplish His will at the same time? That might make you feel better when you’re unable to produce the same quality of work you’re accustomed to turning in.

There’s a story in 1 Kings 20 that has a funny little twist. The Bible often glosses over big events in a very short amount of time, and if you blink, you’ll miss it. In this case, the Israelites were at war with a numerically superior foe, the Arameans. Verse 27 says that the Israelites were like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans covered the countryside.

The Lord was kinda mad at the Arameans in this engagement, so he enabled the Israelites to cut down 100,000 of their enemy in one day, and verse 30 says that the rest fled into a nearby city. Here’s where you’ll miss it if you blink: “But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a wall large enough to fall on 27,000 men. In order to have a wall that big fall on so many people at once, we’re talking about failure at a spectacular level. The book doesn’t say anything about how that wall was constructed or what made it collapse; we just know that it happened, it was bad news for the Arameans, and it was all part of God’s plan.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not condoning work that’s intentionally sloppy or poor. If you can’t meet the level of what you’re ordinarily capable of though, do the best you can. There may be a divine purpose for that imperfection later on down the line.

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Church Canceled Today?

Good morning everyone!

Due to the whole “pandemic thing,” there are a lot of disruptions in life, including the cancellation of a lot of church services.

Don’t let that stop you from learning about the power of Christ working in and through you. If you need a substitute lesson today, try this one. There’s no worship music, but it’s almost 40 minutes of learning about how Christ’s power can be increased in you.

Hang tight, keep the faith, and look for new opportunities during this once-in-a-lifetime event we’re living through!

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Play Like There’s No Tomorrow

Graphic courtesy of WEBN/NFL

As a fan of professional football, this is an exciting time of year. It’s playoff season. There are 32 teams in the league and at the end of the regular season only 12 teams extend their season into the playoffs. As of today there are only four teams left. This weekend two games will occur, and the winners of those two games will face off in the Super Bowl during the first weekend of February.

One of the things that make the playoffs so exciting is that anything can happen. This past weekend the team with the best record in the league was eliminated by a team that barely made it into the playoffs. While many of the games in the regular season are blowouts or otherwise unexciting, each team in the playoffs has earned the right to be there. The level of play is elevated and the games are more interesting to watch.

When you’re watching a great game, it’s a shame that one of the teams has to lose and be eliminated. As the game draws near to the end and it becomes more evident which team is facing elimination, you see the desperation as they pull out all the stops. They think bigger; they take more risks. The really exciting games are the ones that aren’t decided until the last play of the game. When teams are neck-in-neck, they both raise their level of play, and the players sometimes seem to find another gear as they push each other to perform at their highest potential.

How is this like the Christian life? Think of it this way: a football game isn’t over until there’s no time left on the game clock. Sure, there are cases where games go to overtime, but the vast majority of games end when the clock runs out. Just like a football game, a Christian only has a finite amount of time to be on the field, making plays for the team and for the coach. After the clock runs out, the impact of the individual’s efforts cannot be changed. What’s done is done, and it’s too late to go back and add anything to it.

While we don’t have the advantage of seeing how much time is left on the clock in our lives, we can still make efforts to “up our game” and play to our full potential. Are you disciplined in your spiritual diet (do you consume good things and avoid bad things)? Are you surrounding yourself with people that push you to operate at your highest level?

When we’re done with this life, we’re going to want to be able to say “I left it all out there on the field.” Don’t keep anything in reserve; use it all up before the clock runs out. If you do that, believe me, the coach is going to take notice.

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Don’t Rob the World of it…

The church we attend is fortunate to have a large amount of musical talent among its congregation.

Each week the church holds multiple services, so it’s asking a lot for the same people to be on the worship team week after week for all the services. Volunteers from the congregation stepped up, and as a result the worship team has a good amount of “bench strength.”

When the team is leading worship, there are usually a lot of people on stage. Normally there are two keyboardists, three or four guitarists, a drummer, and some singers. There’s a lot happening during a given song.

I’m not sure why, it’s probably the amount of movement, but my eye is always drawn to the drummer. Like any other role on the worship team, there are different types of people that play the drums. All of them can keep the beat just fine, but while some of them look calm and in complete control of the rhythm, others play with intensity and look like they’re out of breath and are right on the edge of losing musical control.

I always enjoy when one young man in particular takes his turn at the drums. Not only are his arms flailing around in perfect timing, smashing his instruments, but his head also bobs to help keep the beat. At the same time his facial expression conveys his sheer passion for the task.

The drums and cymbals our church uses are electronic; I’m guessing that someone made the decision to use electronic cymbals so that metal ones don’t overpower the rest of the worship team. They make less noise when the drumsticks physically strike them, and the sound system adds it in to the overall mix coming out of the speakers. When I’m sitting in the congregation and this guy is drumming, I can clearly hear the sound of his drumsticks slapping the cymbals no matter where I sit in the room.

This is someone that’s doing what he was created to do, and it’s a joy to behold.

We’re all created with gifts. I heard someone describe a gift as “the thing you do the best with the least amount of effort.” You might make a living from it, but not necessarily. For some people, standing up in front of a group and teaching is something that comes naturally, but for others that idea is terrifying. Some people are amazing hosts/hostesses. It’s possible to be an incredibly empathetic conversationalist and have an occupation where that skill isn’t used at all.

Your gift might be something you think is absurd, or even worthless. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it, but I’ll tell you that you’ll feel satisfaction in using your gifts to glorify God. If you make amazing fried chicken…fry it while giving God glory. If mowing grass in cool patterns comes naturally to you, mow it like there’s no tomorrow. If you write computer code or create algorithms effortlessly, write and create with passion! There’s no telling how your gift will combine with others that are using their gifts, and what that will result in.

What were you created to do? The more important question is: are you doing it? (What good is a drum that can’t be played, or a Lamborghini that sits in the garage?)

The drummer in our church isn’t changing lives or saving souls by playing the drums. I can only imagine though, that if it’s fun for me, an ordinary guy, to watch him play, our Heavenly Father is smiling even bigger to see one of his beloved children employ the talents entrusted to him to pursue his calling. Wouldn’t you like to bring the same kind of smile to God’s face?

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Were You AIMING for the Bridge? (Part 1 of 2)

Lots of rain that week…

This week’s posts took place at roughly this time one July. I got certified as a lifeguard very late in the summer when I was 15, so I didn’t get much experience actually working on duty that year. The next summer was different.

The Christian conference center where I worked not only had two pools that needed lifeguards, but it also conducted waterfront activities on the Delaware River. It had a boat that guests could use for waterskiing and tubing, but it also did a lot of “canoe runs.” A canoe run was where someone on staff drove guests a few miles upriver and dropped them off with canoes, along with a lifeguard to guide the group. This stretch of river was mostly flat, but did have a few sets of progressively choppier or rougher rapids that helped break up the monotony. Canoe runs usually occurred four or five days a week, many times twice a day. As a result, the lifeguards became very familiar with the river and where they might encounter trouble spots or submerged obstacles. They almost never went more than a few days without being on the river, except for once each summer.

There’s a week every summer where the organization’s program offerings change, and it does not offer any waterfront activities. During this particular summer’s no-river-activities week, the remnants of a hurricane blew through our area. It rained hard for a few days that week, swelling streams and tributaries locally and for miles upstream of us. The water level rose and the current quickened many times over as that water made its way into the river.

For the first canoe run of the following week, plenty of people were excited to go. Recognizing that the river had risen substantially, an extra lifeguard went on this trip. I was one of them. Things started out uneventfully, but we were still within sight of the boat ramp when something very unexpected happened.

Here’s the bridge, with the supporting pillars. The one in question is the one right over this guy’s shoulder.

Soon after the put-in point there’s a bridge that crosses the river. The bridge is built for vehicles, so its pillars are pretty solid. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but I think the two men in one of the canoes were trying to get past one of the columns and got surprised by how swift the current was moving. They somehow ended up slamming broadside into the pillar. The current was so strong that the impact dumped both people into the river and the force of the water physically wrapped the canoe around the upstream side of the pillar.

With the current moving so quickly, everyone else who had not hit a bridge went flying past the site of the impact. The other lifeguard and I, still a little stunned that someone had actually run into the only thing they could have possibly hit, spun our canoe around and began paddling upstream as hard as we could, but it was all we could do to not lose any further ground to the current. Just about all of the other canoes did the same thing, but with varying degrees of success. The two guys that got dumped in the water didn’t quite know what to do, and were stuck in the eddy downstream of the pillar. Everyone paddling hard was getting tired, so we had to shout to the guys to start swimming downstream, out of the eddy, so we could reach them. They did, and we eventually reached them and placed them in two of the remaining canoes.

This all happened within sight of where we put the canoes into the water. We still had almost three miles to go! I started worrying about all kinds of things. “What are the rapids gonna look like?” “If the current’s moving this fast, is our whole group going to be able to make land if they all arrive at our destination at the same time?” “How do I tell my boss I lost a canoe?”

The rest of the trip wasn’t nearly as eventful as what I feared. The river was so high that the rapids no longer existed, and the current moved so quickly that we made it downstream in record time. It was a struggle at the end, but we were able to get everyone back on land at the right spot. After counting heads and accounting for all of the gear (minus one boat and a few paddles), it was time to go tell the boss.

You might remember Allen from an earlier post. He’s the guy that recruited me into lifeguard training. He was in charge of all the recreational activities, and he was the guy I needed to tell. Allen’s the kind of guy that usually has the same facial expression whether he’s happy, sad, conflicted, ecstatic, flabbergasted, or thinking about a baloney sandwich.

“Dude, Al! We lost a canoe! These guys hit one of the bridge pillars, the canoe wrapped around it, they got dumped out, we picked ’em up and made it back, and as far as I know, the canoe’s still there, stuck on the bridge!”

He just kind of stood there and blinked at me, digesting what he just heard. He asked me a few clarification questions, paused to think for a few moments, and then hit me with:

“Well, let’s go get it.”

Then it was my turn to stand there and blink.

I should have protested more, maybe making more of an attempt to convey the river’s strength. I was fresh off the situation…I had just been there and seen the power of the current, and how crazy high the water actually was. Allen knew the conditions were much different from what they normally were, but he hadn’t been there to witness the ease with which the river destroyed a canoe. At 16 years old, though, I wasn’t confident enough to challenge my boss and say “I’ve been there, I’ve seen it! You’ve gotta believe me!”

There’s a difference between knowing something with your mind and having experienced that same thing in person. If you follow Christ, He enables you to do things that you can’t do without Him. The Bible talks about how we’re supposed to go out and tell the world about Christ, being bold and taking steps forward when we can’t see what’s in front of us. It talks about being strong and courageous, and it even talks about how, if you’re faithful with a few things, you’ll be granted authority over more resources so you can further demonstrate your faithfulness.

Yet it’s one thing to read about and say “yeah, I know that, I’ve known that for years” and quite another to do it. Keeping your keister parked on the couch instead of being obedient is a loss for Christ’s kingdom. You, as a child of God, need not fear even when seemingly impossible and daunting obstacles stand before you. If you know that God will empower His followers to do His work, do you believe Him? Going a step further, if you know that God has charged you to do something overwhelming, are you stepping out in faith even when you can’t see what’s in front of you?

Take the next step. Step out in faith. He’s going to give you what you need to succeed in His name. I’ve been there. I’ve seen it. You’ve gotta believe me!

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Built for Success

In 2002 a college buddy and I took a trip to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. We got to be spectators at a biathlon, short track speed skating, bobsledding, some downhill slalom, and cross-country skiing events. On top of the events themselves, one night we were able to attend a medal ceremony downtown. A lot of the other nights we’d go visit downtown, because that’s where a ton of stuff was going on. We were able to watch the jumbotron set up in the city to keep up to speed on whatever key events were going on that night. Overall, it was very cool stuff.

In some of the venues we were able to get super close to the athletes or tracks. At the biathlon we actually had to be careful, because we were close enough to get hit in the face with ski poles. Same thing with bobsledding…we could get close enough to reach out and touch the sled as it raced past.

I didn’t really think about it at the time, but athletes from across the globe that participated in the same sport had similar builds or strengths. Hockey players and bobsledders tended to be large and muscular, while short track competitors tended to be a little shorter with more slender builds. Cross-country skiing competitors seemed to be consistently above average height, and figure skaters cultivated grace and agility rather than a muscular physique.

I’m over 6 feet tall, but under 200 pounds. A little bit on the lanky side, I’m physically better suited to play first base or quarterback more than I am to be a catcher or an offensive lineman. I’ve got more potential in the sports of basketball, volleyball, or tennis than I do in the sports of wrestling, powerlifting, or marathon-running.

If I were bent on becoming a professional athlete, I could lament the fact that I’m not built for success in certain areas, or I could try my best to be successful in the areas where I could excel.

It’s the same thing with serving Christ. There are some functions in Christianity where the role has a higher (or more desirable) profile than others. If you’re built and equipped for one function though, don’t lament the fact that you’re not set up for success in another. There’s a reason you have certain tendencies, attitudes, instincts, spiritual gifts, and interests. You were designed and intended to fill a certain role; by focusing on fulfilling a different role, you’re actually detracting from the one you want to escape and the one you want to attain.

Don’t run away from the role you were born to fill. Embrace it, then watch God work through you.

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A New Chapter Begins

Congratulations! You have officially made it through Christmas, New Year’s, and if you haven’t already, you’ll probably be getting back into the normal routine soon.

For some, 2018 was a great year with uplifting stories and good fortune. Others have experienced loss or heartache and are happy to close the book on this past year. Wherever you are, we’re now taking our first tentative steps into 2019. The year that lies ahead holds unforeseen challenges as well as circumstances you can choose to interpret as either sweet or sour.

In a previous post I said that God does not force you to do great and impossible things; He invites you to come along and be a part of them. If you choose to turn down the invitation, don’t be confused when you wonder why you’re not finding more to this life.

To kick off the blog for 2019 I’d like to include an excerpt taken from a book I read this past year. It’s by a man named Erwin McManus, called The Last Arrow. The book takes its name from an Old Testament story where the king of Israel sought out the prophet Elisha to plead with God for protection against approaching enemies.

One of the odd instructions Elisha gave the king was to take some of the arrows he had and strike them on the ground. The king then complied, but stopped after striking three arrows on the ground. This angered Elisha, who said “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” The king’s heart wasn’t in the effort, and he gave up too soon.

When an archer has a quiver full of arrows, they are not doing any good until they’re in flight. Regardless of how cool they look, a group of arrows still in a quiver only represents potential. They do not serve their purpose until they come flying off the bow. During a time when they ought to be used, an arrow that remains in a quiver is an arrow that’s been wasted.

Most of us naturally attempt something with less than full commitment, or we naturally maintain a bias for inaction. In other words, we don’t begin something unless we receive “a clear sign” that we’re supposed to embark on a new undertaking. We’re modern-day versions of Gideon, rolling out fleeces on the ground and waiting for improbable signs that will help us avoid acting on opportunities set before us, even if we recognize them.

Instead, what if we maintained a bias for action? What if we alternatively had the attitude of “I’m going to keep going until I get a clear sign to stop?” Another way of thinking about it is to “Go until you get a no.”

Wherever you are in life, don’t give in to the doubts you have. Don’t allow the excuses to pile up and sway you. “I’m too old.” “I’m too young.” “I’m too hurt.” “I’m too busy.” Whatever your “I’m too” is, don’t let that stop you. If you’re breathing, you can employ the gifts God’s given to you.

From The Last Arrow:

“The great tragedy that I have witnessed over and over again is that we keep underestimating how much God wants to do in us and through us. Too many of us have believed the lies we have been told: that we’re not good enough, we’re not smart enough, we’re not talented enough, we’re just not enough. One of the facets of God that makes him extraordinary is his ability to do the impossible through ordinary, everyday, common people like you and me. This book has one intention: that whether you win or lose, succeed or fail, live a life of celebrity or anonymity, that when you take your last breath, you will know without reservation that you have given everything you have, everything you are, to the life you have been entrusted with.”

There’s more out there. You were made for more. As we start 2019 I’m going to continue exhorting you to accept the challenges God has already and will continue to lay before you. Accept His invitation and prepare to be amazed at the power of God working through you.

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Sometimes the Failures Come Before the Successes

Were you ever successful on your first attempt to do something tricky? If you’re fortunate enough to say ‘yes,’ I wouldn’t get used to that being the norm.

After college I worked for a construction company for about a year and a half before leaving for the Air Force. During the summers we started at 6:30 or 7 in the morning so we could escape some of the heat of the late afternoon. Getting off work at 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon meant there was still plenty of time to get to the pool before it closed.

This was the same pool where I had spent a few summers lifeguarding. When I worked at the pools, I got the chance to watch people do some pretty cool things off the diving boards. I never really had the chance to try it out though, because I was either working or hurrying to get something done so I could move on to the next thing.

I’m not really sure what triggered it, but one day after work when I was at the pool, I decided that I wanted to try a “one and a half” off the diving board. I’m not sure if there’s a better name than that for it, but if you do a flip off the diving board and land in the water feet first, that’s “one.” A one and a half is when you do a flip, but keep rotating another half revolution and enter the water hands/headfirst in a dive.

You have to understand that back then I had a higher tolerance for pain. Working in construction means you’re constantly dealing with bruises, knicks, bumps, drops, even a few slams here and there. For whatever reason, on that day, I was willing to accept some pain in order to perform a one and a half.

Failure after failure ensued. I’m on the tall side, so it took me a bit to figure out how to deal with under-rotation. Rotating 360 degrees is good, and rotating the desired 540 degrees is good, but when you’re somewhere in between those two, it’s ugly and painful (especially when you’re spinning fast and your face is the first thing to hit the water). Some of the flops forced my eyes open underwater, some of them wrenched my neck back, and some of them just stung when I hit the water the wrong way.

I was finally able to do it. The secret was twofold: you had to tuck in your legs almost like you’re doing a cannonball, and you had to spin full speed in order to get the full rotation. It was the most bizarre feeling to be spinning so fast that your face starts warping and you had to use your arms to pull your knees close to your chest or they’d fly away from it. Weird as it was, it was the only way to make it work.

I don’t think I’ve ever done another one and a half since that day. I just wanted to figure it out for myself and be able to say that I had done it. Here’s the important takeaway from this little story: in order to reach my goal, I had to be willing to fail. Boy, did I fail. And I didn’t just fail once, I failed MANY times (sometimes in an epic way). In the end, I failed more times than I was successful, but the eventual success somehow made the failures seem less important.

Some of you are afraid of failure. Why? Maybe you’re afraid of someone seeing you miss the mark. Maybe you think that it will result in people labeling you as someone with poor judgment. It might be because you’re afraid of what will happen if you succeed. Whether it’s ego, fear, embarrassment, whatever it is, ask yourself if the reason you don’t try is because of something that’s only in your head.

I think this is a recurring theme in this blog: in your Christian life, God will challenge you to do things that you think you’re going to fail at. That’s fine. It’s okay to fear failure. Don’t miss the next part, though. Fearing the possibility of failure is not a valid excuse for not trying. If God hands you an assignment that takes the wind out of your sails, I can guarantee the little voice that starts whispering to you “there’s just no way” is not a part of God’s team. If someone who’s not on God’s team starts trying to put ideas in your head, do you think you should put any stock in them?

Today I heard someone say “People don’t want to be preached to; they want to be summoned.” They want to be called, invited, to be a part of something. God will summon you to do something big, and He will pick YOU for a specific reason. You may not know why, but it’s part of His master plan. Nobody else on the entire planet has the exact combination of experiences, gifts, talents, and resources that you do. If God’s calling you to be a part of something, don’t let the possibility of failure stop you from getting started. Your obedience can unleash something you never saw coming, and open the door for others to be a part of something bigger than you could have expected.

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Adapt and Overcome

After I finished Air Force Basic Training, I moved to a different part of Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) near San Antonio, TX. Here I began trying out to become a survival school instructor, officially called a SERE Specialist (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape). At the time, this two-week course was called SEREIIC – SERE Instructor Indoctrination Course. If you passed this course, you moved up to Fairchild AFB near Spokane, Washington to take part in a longer, 6-month training course.

Just because this course was only two weeks long didn’t mean we only spent two weeks there. Having just arrived from Basic Training, all new SEREIIC trainees were skinny, had no muscle, still called everyone “Sir” or “Ma’am,” and generally were not suited for the physical rigors of the upcoming training. Two weeks is simply not enough time to transform skinny “Basic” bodies into something strong enough to withstand the requirements of the course. Even though the course was only two weeks, some students spent months there developing muscle mass and required skills. A few months after I first showed up at SEREIIC, I was 30-40 pounds heavier, mostly from all the workouts we did.

The training could be incredibly stressful, both physically and mentally. It’s not on par with Navy SEAL training, by any stretch, but they use some of the same elements. Room and uniform inspections that require impeccable attention to detail; sleep deprivation; spending hours a day doing physical training; and constant harassment from your instructors and others in charge of you. The whole purpose of this introductory course is to weed out the people that want to be there from the people that are less than fully committed. The instructors are training you to adapt and overcome. In a survival situation, when you are alone, exhausted, and it seems like there’s a never-ending list of hurdles you need to overcome, your life itself can depend on your willingness to overcome doubt, get up off the ground and keep going, no matter how much you just want to lay there a little bit longer.

We didn’t always see it while it was happening, but the misery we endured built fortitude and perseverance in us. The physical training on its own was enough to make some people drop out. Add to that various types of verbal harassment and other pressures, and it became incredibly stressful. I showed up with a group of about 10 or 11 guys, and the guys who had been around for awhile thought it was really fun to haze us. Our first night we were part of the “Newbie 500,” more or less a couple of hours where the students with seniority made us work out in absurd ways until they got tired of messing with us. Pushups, flutter kicks, squats, sprints, bear crawls, crab crawls, and a number of other activities too difficult to describe here, all of them exhausting or painful.

We were only seriously hazed once, but it continued on and off until the guys with seniority either graduated or washed out of the course. The heavy duty physical training came as a part of our normal duty day, under the supervision of instructors. During our duty day (when we were actually at work), any time we entered or left the dorms, the chow hall, or the school, all of us did a synchronized set of about 25 pushups. To be honest, it looked pretty cool when there were 20 of us doing pushups in unison, but we had to do it as a team, or else we’d have to start over and probably pay some kind of physical penalty on top of it for not working together. Between the normal course of traveling between buildings, doing normal PT, missing details during our uniform or room inspections, and after-hours “smoke sessions,” there were days where we did a thousand pushups.

There was plenty of running and rucking, too. We had a couple of tracks, one of them a quarter mile and another one a full mile. To help build our bodies’ tolerance, the new trainees were issued ruck sacks that they were to fill with “only” 45 pounds’ worth of rocks or anything else that could get the scale past the minimum. Over time the load grew. Our instructor cadre would tell us to either run or ruck some seemingly impossible distance in some improbably short amount of time. We had this one guy that, once the instructors were out of earshot, would always start complaining “Dude, there’s no possible way we can make it that far that fast!” It never failed. At first we felt the same way as he did, but over time we learned not to think like him, instead saying “you might be right, but c’mon, let’s argue about it along the way.”

A funny thing happened during our stay there at SEREIIC. We got stronger, and our confidence grew. The ruck sacks got heavier, but we could handle it. We became faster, and could go farther. Pushups weren’t so scary, they just became part of the day’s routine. We were able to smash through the mental barriers we had put up for ourselves and accomplish just about every goal the cadre set before us.

I’ll have more stories to share from this chapter of my life, but for this post I want to convey this main point: if you want to do great things for Christ, you have to be able to look at seemingly insurmountable obstacles, take a deep breath, and start moving. If you are a child of God, there is unimaginable power living within you! Do not be afraid or discouraged!

Break loose from mediocrity, and start climbing the huge wall that stands between where you are and reaching your full potential as an impactful Christ-follower. Want to know a secret that’s kinda scary but also kinda exhilarating? After you make it past that wall, there’s going to be another, bigger one behind it. And there’s another one behind that one. And another one. And on, and on, and on. Each one you overcome, though, will either arm you with new knowledge, or show you that you can do things you once thought impossible. Once you’ve scaled a number of these metaphorical walls, you’ll no longer flinch at doing things you believe to be beyond your capability.

God has a way of putting big challenges in His followers’ lives. It’s important to remember that the things you faced yesterday have prepared you for the challenges you’ll face today and tomorrow. It’s scary sometimes, but if He’s placed an impossible task in front of you, He’s also made a way for you to get past it. Will you start complaining that it looks impossible, or will you pick up your ruck and start moving?