The War We Cannot See: What's really going on?
I want you to imagine that you are on the beaches of Normandy, France, in June 1944.
If you're not sure what that would look like, just think about the opening scene of the movie, Saving Private Ryan. That's where you are. You're on a boat just off the shore of Omaha Beach.
Thousands of men have already gone on ahead of you but you haven't seen the carnage yet. Your gut tells you it's going to be bad but you have no idea what to expect when the backend of that boat lowers and you finally see it yourself.
There is death and destruction everywhere. Bodies ripped open by sniper rounds that are, even now, ripping through your buddies standing right next to you. If you don't hurry (and get very lucky), the next round could tear into you.
Everywhere you look, men - boys, really - are frozen in terror, paralyzed with fear, refusing to move and losing their lives. It's a tragic scene that you're caught up in and the damage is overwhelming.
Now...back to today.
What if I told you that when you think of that scene and you put yourself in that scenario, that it is a fitting scene for the life you're living right now --- but you just may not know it.
You see, men today are being taken out in a battle like the one at Normandy on D-Day on June 6th, 1944. The big difference between then and now is that men in those boats knew there was a war - and you and I most likely don't.
What's Really Going On
Continue to imagine with me for a minute. But this time, not about D-Day, but about men today. What do you observe about men in your life? Men at your church, for example. Or at work, or at your kids' schools or events. In general, what are the men that you know like?
Do you see a majority of men full of passion and vitality and life?
Do you see a majority of Christian men living life "to the fullest" like Jesus offers?
Do you see a majority of men healthy, strong, courageous, and pushing back against the forces of darkness?
Most likely, you don't.
So what's really going on in the invisible war that we don't even see?
We are Christian men who are living in a war we don't recognize and it's wounding our hearts and minds and souls. For many of us, we turned to Christ in hopes that we'd have our hearts healed and refreshed and restored - but, instead, we found out that we got called to the frontlines of a war that we aren't prepared to fight in.
There's something key that we need to understand today and that is this:
"Do you know why there's been such an assault? The Enemy fears you. You are dangerous...big-time. If you ever really got your heart back, lived from it with courage, you would be a huge problem to him. You would do a lot of damage...on the side of good." - Wild at Heart
That's it right there.
You're at war with an enemy that fears you. The real you. The you that he knows you have the potential to be because he knows the One who lives inside of you better than you do.
Why does that make him afraid and make him want to destroy you? Because a Christian man whose heart is on fire for Jesus, who lives unafraid, who lives boldly and courageously and sacrificially for Jesus and others - would cause some serious damage to the kingdom of evil and would be powerful for the Kingdom of God.
The enemy knows this and is trying to take you out.
Good New/Bad News
There's good news and bad news about this story.
The Good News: Christ already won the war and died to free you so that you could live up to your potential in him!
The Bad News: There's an enemy that hates you and your King and he has committed himself to make it as rough as possible and he's on a mission because he knows his time is short.
One of the words in what was just said is this: potential.
When God made you and formed you as a man, he made you with so much potential. Look throughout the Scriptures and see example after example of what a fully-surrendered man of God can do. Did you know that God can use you in those same ways too? It's true. Not because you're something special (sorry to break it to you!) - but because he is!
The potential that each of us men has is limited to the potential that Christ has. How big is that potential? Limitless!
It reminds me a friend of mine. I'll call him Charlie.
Charlie is an incredible dude. Super funny and charming, everyone likes him, great guy, Jesus follower. But Charlie has a lazy streak and some bad habits that have followed him into his adulthood. He is often unmotivated and easily distracted. On top of that, his marriage and family life is really hard. His wife suffers from chronic depression and anxiety and doesn't walk closely with the Lord. On top of that, Charlie's kids have several health issues that are legitimately scary and tough to deal with too. Beyond that, he recently started his own business and has the stress that comes with trying to provide a better future for his family and he's not sure he knows how to do this exactly. The combined weight of all of this - as well as the baggage of his old habits - keeps him down and out of the fight many days.
Why do I mention this story?
Because Charlie has a war on his hands. He's fighting several fronts. His past. His home life. His marriage. His kids' health.
What exactly is going on in the battle behind the scenes? That's really the right question to ask here. What's going on is the enemy is at work. He is attacking Charlie every day through whispers of doubt, discouragement, fear, worry, anxiety, lack of sleep and lack of peace, etc.
In short, the enemy hates Charlie and is coming after his heart. What he knows better than us is that if he can take out his heart - the heart of a man that is strong, brave, and courageous - then he can keep him on the sidelines of this life and keep him from reaching his potential in Christ.
That's what he's doing to each of us every single day.
What Do We Do From Here?
So what do we do? What can we do?
1. Recognize what's really going on.
As John Eldredge says in his book, Wild at Heart, "Until we call the situation what it is, we will not know what to do about it."
So what is the situation? We're at war. You're at war. And the enemy fears you because Christ is in you and the potential you have in you is destructive to his plans to take out as many people as he can in his short time left. He fears what will happen if you get healthy and strong and fully committed to Christ.
2. Restore your heart.
How? What does that look like?
It starts with going back to the beginning of your salvation. Remember when you turned to God because you knew that salvation had NOTHING to do with what you brought to the table and the only thing you brought was faith in Jesus' ability to save?
Yeah - get back to that!
Too many of us start picking up our weapons when we hear that we're at war and think that God may want us to fight with our own weapons and strength. Nothing could be further than the truth. The only potential strength we have is to let Jesus ("who is your life" - Colossians 3:4) live his life through you. Get back to letting him lead the way and guide you every day.
You're at war. It's ugly, brutal, and taking out many men all around you. But Christ has won and if you'll hide in him and let him lead - you can become the man that God meant for you to be and find victory in Him!
Listen to more of this conversation in the Get In The Fight Podcast - Episode #11.
