No Need to be a Rambo

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.”

“Come,” He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” —Matthew 14:22-33

Christ has been teaching me what it really means to trust Him. I have been learning (always the hard way, of course) that trusting Him means more than just saying, “Lord, I trust You.” It is so much more than just words. It means that I have to surrender the things that, for various reasons, I have no control over. Things like the safety of my family, for instance. You never really get a chance to trust anyone if you are never in any kind of need. It has not been an easy thing for me to learn. I tend to try to be very self-sufficient and very self-reliant. In Iraq I don’t always have the option to rely on myself for everything. This really hit home when a tropical storm flooded the small Virginian town where my family was living. All that I was hearing on the news was how much rain the Virginia coast was getting, and I couldn’t get a hold of my wife on the house phone. When I finally remembered the cell phone and called, everything was fine. Everyone was without power, but the water did not reach the house.

Trusting Christ is easy when everything is going right and there are no obstacles. But is that really trust? I believe that trust is built in adversity. Without the storms of life, which for me has been 8,000 miles away and in the middle of a desert for the last 14 plus months, you don’t learn to lean on those everlasting Arms.

He has also been teaching me the importance of other believers. Even though I’m surrounded by people constantly, it is amazing how small and alone one can feel when you are “the only one.” Most of the people I work with are “spiritual” people, meaning they believe in God (or something) but they really aren’t sure who that is or what they really think about it. What an amazing difference it is to have a brother in Christ here. During the first trip I made to Iraq, I tried to be a Christian “Rambo.” I tried to be a believer on my own, without other believers. Wow, was that a giant mistake! I went to church maybe five or six times the ENTIRE time, and I got beat up by the devil. The next time I deployed to Iraq, I made it a point to reach out to other believers, starting before I left. I had several Christian men to email about anything and everything—let me tell you, that was a God-send. I remember one time in particular, it had been a really bad week for the soldiers. I knew in part what was going on, and it was really stressing me out. It’s a very helpless feeling to know there is nothing you can do to help at all. Couple all of that with no one to talk to, and you can see where there might be a problem. Christians are meant for community. We need each other, we rely on each other. We lift each other up, and we propel each other on.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” —Proverbs 27:17.

My point is this… Rambo is a myth. He doesn’t exist. In combat, you need the guys on your left and right. They need you, as well. Troy, a chaplain friend of mine, and I made it a habit to get together once a week. The first week we got together, I could tell that he needed to talk. He needed to vent a little, and I was able to be there for him. The next week was my turn; I needed to talk, and he was able to listen. When Troy went on vacation, Dave showed up. Dave is a strong believer, who has no problem breaking from whatever he is doing and praying. It is an awesome thing to be jogging and praying at the same time.

If you get anything from this devotional, get this: Christ knew I’d be in the desert. He knows where you are, too. He knows the storms in your life, and He knows how you are handling them. What you are going through is not bigger than Him, and if you let him, you will learn a great deal in the midst of those storms. If you don’t know Jesus personally, maybe today is the day to cry out to Him. Maybe today is the day you surrender to Him, and let Him guide you through the storms. (see Keep on Praying, October 4th devotional) And if you already know Christ, let me offer you this encouragement—the storm has a purpose. It’s hard to see it when you are in the middle of it, but the purpose is there. It’s not easy, but if you let Him, He will get you through it.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide me through the storms of life as they come. Help me to see Your hand in them, and to learn from them. Help me to learn to trust you, not just in the good times, but when things are difficult as well. In Jesus name, Amen.

Questions to share:

1. What are some storms that you have gone through recently, and how did you handle them?

2. What are some things that you can do differently the next time those hard times come?