Understanding the commander’s intent is very important to success on the battlefield. In life, we have our Commander’s intent laid out in the Bible. Unfortunately, we are focused on ourselves and have moved away from the commander’s intent: to have the free will to glorify him instead of ourselves.
The great military thinker and strategic theorist, Clausewitz said that “war is the domain of friction and violence.” Not only war, but also the fabric of our life exists in friction. In your daily life, you are in a war of expectations and trials. We talk about periods of peace but there’s never a true world peace. When one area of sovereignty bumps up against another it creates friction. It’s true at the international level and the individual level.
We have friction because we have free will. If you put free will into the military context it doesn’t work well. Everybody cannot make up their minds about whether or not they shoot back at the enemy or engage in combat. We have to bury the idea of free will to have the unity required to accomplish the commander’s intent and survive as a unit.
The winning strategy lies in applying our force and resources in a coordinated way to accomplish the bigger mission. It involves having our free will inline with the commander’s will and committing to the success of the team above our own glory or survival. Don’t lose yourself, your ethics or your honor by losing sight of the commander’s intent. It wasn’t a part of God’s intent for you to focus on yourself or become self-reliant. Success is measured by your commitment to each other and your commitment to the commander’s intent.
Truly we have a war without end now. And it’s an issue of conflicting ideologies. The fight we are in is a big one. So all the little things matter, like how you prepare, how you pray, and how you conduct yourself. Understanding the creator’s intent is the key to your success. He intended for you to have peace regardless of what is happening to you or around you in this world and he wanted you to not only have life, but also to live it more abundantly.
Prepare us, Lord, for spiritual warfare. Embolden us. While we are in battle, grant us the peace that passes understanding. Amen
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)