| Deployment Jun. 22, 2005 |
John 15:18-19 NKJV 18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The military uses a term called deployment. The term refers to a period of time that a soldier is sent away from his/her normal duty station for a designated amount of time for a specific mission. Sometimes the soldier is unaware of the full purpose and/or the details of the mission but the one who sent him/her is not only confident of the soldier's capability to complete the task but also believes in the mission itself. God has sent us all on deployment. We are away from home for a designated period of time for a specific purpose. We don't have to understand all the details, but we have to do as we are told in order to survive. We have to depend on one another and create alliances against our enemy. We have to keep our weapons clean and well stocked. And we have to wait for our orders before we move. Deployments are hard on the one(s) who is deployed as well as the one(s) who is left behind. God eagerly awaits the day when we complete our missions and return back to our home with Him. Then He will award us with awards and crowns that acknowledge our accomplishments. However, it's not as simple as it sounds. Those of us who have experienced someone leaving us to go back home can testify to the hurt and confusion that can sometimes follow resulting in disorientation and vulnerability to the enemy. On the other hand, some of us just lose our way. We forget why we are here and we let our guard down which results in being captured by the enemy. The enemy then proceeds to torment us and persecute us until we denounce our true citizenship with Christ. The only way to prevent any of this is to continually communicate with the One who sent us. Trust that He is in control. Trust that God would never send us somewhere just to leave us. God can keep us focused on our mission and remind us of its great benefits. So just remember that deployments are only for a designated period of time and soon God will be calling all His soldiers back where they belong. Keep the faith! I hope you enjoyed reading the word of God in a new light. Have a Happy Wednesday! God Bless, Min. Tommy & Sis. Shatika Gray "Moving when God has not told you to move is not stepping out on faith; it's stepping out on foolishness" Min. Tommy Gray III Scripture References NKJV Leviticus 25:35 If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. John 14:1-3 1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. |