“No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please the commanding officer.” – 2 Timothy 2:4 (NIV)
Beloved, our commanding officer is the Lord Jesus Christ, and as a sanctified Holy Ghost, blood-washed soldier, we are commissioned by Him in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 to be effective witnesses in our sphere of influence and soul winners. We have a worldwide mandate, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12 – KJV).
In the context of being “entangled in civilian affairs,” Apostle Paul was pointing out that soldiers don’t concern themselves with non-military matters: they have a job to do, and they do it. They do not worry about issues unrelated to their specific mission. In other words, soldiers would not be distracted by civilian concerns such as entertainment, politics, or weather.
Dr Wilbert Lee of First Assembly of God Wortmanville and former Colonel of the Guyana Defence Force, in a commentary, stated that when one is enlisted in the army of the Lord, our priorities change; our devotions and allegiance are to our new commanding officer, Jesus Christ. As soldiers of the cross, we are mandated by Christ to adhere to new regulations with regard to the nature of its operations, follow a unique dress code, and conduct ourselves in a godly manner, not to bring the name and character of Christ into disrepute. Dr Lee further stated that the dress code of the Lord is the “Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17), and because we are in continuous warfare, it is important for it to be worn at all times.
Beloved, let us remember that we are in spiritual warfare, and therefore, when we engage people who are filled with envy, jealousy, lies, deceit, and guile and are intent on attempting to destroy our destiny because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, let’s not focus on their fleshly acts, but let us strategically coordinate our attacks on the puppet master – the devil, and dispatch prayers like scud missiles into the enemies camp destroying their communication network rendering it incoherent and useless. Let’s dismantle all demonic structures and systems constructed to destroy God’s creation and His sacred institutions and remember that these individuals also need salvation.
As soldiers of Christ, order is very important, and we must always know who we are despite our fear of the unknown. God’s army, though, is expected to be fearless (2 Timothy 1:7), for worry, like a buzzard, preys upon the carrion of the disorganised mind. God expects us, His soldiers, to count it all joy when we experience trials of various kinds (James 1:2-4). Let us set our faces as flints in our unwavering determination to follow in Christ’s footsteps, separate from worldly influences. Soldier on!
Read: Psalm 144:1; Isaiah 41:10
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 104:31-35; 2 Corinthians 4; Micah 1; Micah 2; Micah 3; Micah 4
