What Kind of Shape Are You In?

On July 5^th 1950 US troops who were unprepared where sent to battle. The early days of the Korean War were nothing short of disastrous. Soldiers who were out of shape could not match the intense stamina of their enemy. When US soldiers would withdraw from overrun fighting positions they would leave behind wounded comrades and valuable equipment…because they were not conditioned to carry the extra loads. In those early days the victors of WWII were routed by a poorly equipped…but well trained Army of peasants. The costly lesson is this: if we fail to prepare our soldiers for physically demanding wartime tasks, then we are failing our soldiers. A soldier’s level of physical fitness has a direct impact on his or her combat readiness. And I would propose that the same is true for the spiritual soldier. It is no secret that the enemy is at war with the children of God. We know the news, we see the signs of the times, and we know that it will get worse before it gets better. What kind of shape are you in? When the battle comes will you be over run by an ill-equipped but well trained adversary because you are not prepared spiritually to deal with what comes at you physically? When the war heats up will you abandon your wounded brothers and sisters because you are not spiritually equipped to bear the extra burden through prayer and witnessing? Or will you look the enemy in the eye and say “Bring it on” because you know that you are full of the power of God, dressed in His full armor, trained in His warfare. Are you “fit to fight”?