There’s no adventure without a battle. A trek into the woods is no adventure at all if the trail is easy or if you don’t go off the path. Here’s a math formula for you: Normal life – ease and comfort + intentionally entering difficulty = Adventurous living. Just so you know, comfort and adventure mix like water and oil. In other words, they don’t. The bigger the difficulty, the bigger the reward. The bigger the war, the bigger the adventure. Fortunately, there’s a war you were made to fight. The problem is, we often don’t recognize the war.
How I (a wanna-be gardener) fought an epic-beetle-battle to save my plants
A month ago I saw a beetle on my zucchini plant. Being the awesome and masculine man that I am, I decided it was no big deal and ignored it. One week later I noticed the beetle had multiplied. “Gross,” I thought, and ignored it once more. Just a few days ago, I realized that there might be a connection between my wilting zucchini plants and these beetles. A quick google search affirmed my hypothesis. Once I recognized the war I needed to fight, I didn’t waste a second.
That night, I bought some insecticide. When that didn’t work, I got on my hands and knees and fought the bugs one beetle at a time. I hated every second of it. Those things are gross. The only thing that kept me going was my dedication to saving the plants I’ve worked so hard to grow.
I still find one or two more to kill each day, but it’s nothing compared to the droves of beetles I started with. My zucchini plants are still wilting, I hope I killed the bugs in time to save the plants, but only time will tell. If only I had recognized the problem before it got out of hand.
Recognize the War
The thing is, we all have a war to face. If you are one of Christ’s warriors, then the war is pretty obvious. It’s so easy to go through life pretending everything is okay. In reality, we know everything is far from okay. God’s called us to wage war for the sake of unbelievers so that they might recognize his love and goodness and turn back to him.
This is the war we must fight. First we must free ourselves from the shackles of sin, then we must join God’s ranks. This is the war that will forever go down in history. How could we miss out? This is the only war I’ve ever found worth dying for. Yes, fight world hunger, fight human trafficking, fight cancer, but above all fight to save as many people as possible from eternal pain and destruction. The great thing about this is that God has uniquely crafted you with the perfect gifts and abilities to wage this war in your own way. Maybe that’s being a witness at the skate park, maybe it’s sharing what God has brought you through, or composing a song?
Let’s Fight Together
Take a moment to stop and think and recognize the war around you. Focus on the need, focus on the people being wronged or neglected, and use whatever gifts God’s given you to help them and share God’s message of salvation.
Now that we recognize the war, let’s fight together. I’m here to help. Please, let me know how I can help you. If you have any questions you would like me to answer you can contact me here. If you would like more encouragement on fighting this war, check out my blog The Power of “All In” Faith
I want to hear from you also. What battles are you fighting for the sake of others?
