An Army of One, An Army Strong

I don't know how many of my readers are familiar with the little green plastic army men. So, I have attached the image above for your viewing pleasure in hopes it will better depict the vision I received recently. This vision was of an army marching in one accord, in the formation of a line spanning several miles. These soldiers were unified and the line was perfectly vertical. They did not peer to the right or to the left, but faced directly forward. Even further, the soldiers appeared faceless.

In Joel 2, scripture explains the return of the Lord here on earth. It begins by perpetuating a series of events that are recorded to take place. "A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains." (Joel 2:2) Then it goes on to explain, "A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations." (Joel 2: 2b-c) What I believe this scripture is telling us is that before the Day of Judgement, God shall raise up an army on this earth, a chosen generation equipped and befitted to carry out the work of His will. Now let me pose a question to you: What if that generation is us?

I know the thought of it is daunting. It is intimidating to think that we could be a people handpicked by God to be clothed in warrior attire and bold in spirit. Those army boots are big shoes to fill! But, let me ask a question that will weed out luke warm believers: If God were recruiting, would you jump into the frontlines? That is the requirement when enlisting into the army of the Lord, to be bold and on fire for Him. Joel 2:3 states, "A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness". "A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns" further reinforces the notion that there has been and shall be no other generation like the one refined by the Lord. But even further, imagine this generation as a flame, spreading a wildfire through the nations. The wildfire is the gospel, God's Word. Are you bold enough to reclaim territory the enemy has stolen from us?

The end times as revealed through scripture is a period when God releases his wrath here on earth. As the bold generation we were called to be, we are advised to stand calmly in the face of persecution and in the midst of danger. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23: 4). This scripture is used commonly to uplift and encourage those in the midst of a storm. If you read further, you will find that it is also a reminder of how our endurance shall be rewarded. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever (Psalm 23:6). Referring back to scripture in Joel 2:3, we could imagine the flame that burns behind us as "goodness and mercy". It shall follow us into the "land like the Garden of Eden" where we shall "dwell in the house of the Lord Forever".

The reward sounds so sweet, but we musn't lose sight of what we need to do in order to get there! I believe we all have the concept of shining God's light for the world to see, but what if we were conscientious of the fire we left behind us. What is the impact we have made in the lives of others--in our communities, in our cities, and in our nations? I know it is hard to fathom the difference we make individually in such a large-scale. But, remember, it takes just a flick of a match to start a great, consuming wildfire!

Former President John F. Kennedy stated, "One person can make a difference, and everyone should try." Imagine if we each set out to MAKE the change we wanted to see in the world. Well, we would have a wide-scale movement on its way! Let's keep that in mind as we proceed to spread the message of hope and love to God's children. Let's not stop at church. We are called to enter the highways and byways, the places where you would least expect a "Christ follower" to be found. Remember our goal is to take back our territory from the enemy's grasp. This is guerilla warfare and let's give them heaven! "Though they [army of the Lord] lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and they start diminish their brightness" (Joel 2:8b-10). We, of course, as Christians act in love, but spiritually, the Lord has equipped us with the tools needed to advance into enemy territory. We need to stand in our authority as Christians and heed the voice of God. By doing so, we are minimizing the enemy's tactics and maximizing our power (as willed by God) over them. "The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word." (Joel 2:11) We are to obey the Lord's command and we will find victory with a success rate of 100%. Prayer and studying His Word never fails us. Almighty God is our Commander-in-Chief. We are sure to prevail!

Lastly, I want to touch upon our roles and rankings within the army of the Lord. Scripture states, "Every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column." (Joel 2:8) God has strategically placed each and every one of us within a specific church and ministry. Imagine God's army comprised of several platoons (churches) commanded by a lieutenant, our pastor(s). It is not for us to decide delegations of authority. That is our Commander-in-Chief's decision, GOD! We must submit to what he has called us to do in order to keep unity. Remember the enemy is the author of confusion! He loves to reak havoc and disorder over the church body. If he succeeds, we are weaker as a result. Scripture states, "...Him who is the head--Christ--from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:15-16).

Referring back to Joel 2:8, scripture states, "every one marches in his own column". The word column resonated within me, so I decided to look it up in Webster's dictionary. There were several definitions but two stood out. The first definition reiterates what scripture describes as "a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction". The second definition states, "an upright pillar that supports architectural structure". I can't help but notice that in both definitions, there is a reference to being vertical in nature. What we should gather from this is that when we march in our own column, we are vertically aligning our will with God's. When we do so, we are all, as members of this column, "supporting" His truth, will, and purpose, executing the work as it should be done on earth. As members of the army of the Lord, we are to stand upright in formation, in the posture of Christ, ready to enlist all of that the Commander-in-Chief requires of us.

The recent slogans used to entice recruits are "Army of One" and "Army Strong". Let us be an army of One, an army Strong! If we recognize our authority in Christ, boldness steps in, removes fear, and sends us on our way to march in column towards victory. When you are in the army of the Lord, the victory is sure to be sweet!