It was the middle of the night in Iraq. My company had been there several months now and was becoming more proficient in learning how to survive in Anbar Province. This mission should be a simple one: escort some fuel trucks from another company to refill a generator in town so that the locals would have electricity.
The problem with “simple” missions is that they still require the execution of basic tasks, which always creates room for error. We weren’t very far outside the wire when one of the fuel trucks ran off the road into a ditch. The driver had not been properly trained on how to drive at night using night vision goggles. Now we were faced with a recovery operation, in enemy territory, in the middle of the night. “Simple” became “complex” in an instant.
ENDEX
A person always reverts back to his or her level of training. When a situation occurs, people react according to how they’ve been trained. This applies in all of life. The Army has a saying, “Train as you fight,” meaning that the closer you can replicate combat conditions in training then the better you’ll actually perform in combat. So, when this situation happened, we began to react as we’d been trained.
But not everyone. During training exercises, the term “STARTEX” signifies the beginning of the exercise and “ENDEX” is used at the end. All too often, leaders would call ENDEX when training became too complex, or ostensibly unsafe. That night, a junior officer from another unit stepped from his Humvee, hurriedly assessed the situation, and called “ENDEX. Turn on your white lights.”
What? Are you serious? Thankfully he wasn’t in charge and one of my crusty old platoon sergeants set him straight. In a combat zone, at night, with real enemy who want to kill you, turning on lights and stopping the mission is not an option. Instead, we recovered the truck using our night vision and continued the mission.
What happened there? The officer reverted back to his level of training. Whenever he had been in a difficult training experience in the past, someone called “ENDEX” rather than continue to push through and solve the problem.
Prepare for Life
So what happens when we find ourselves in a crisis, like, say, cancer? We revert back to our level of training. Just as the time to prepare for a gunfight isn’t after the first shot is fired, the time to prepare for a trial in your life isn’t after you get those first bad lab results or a pink slip. Preparation must start now and be continuous.
By the grace of God, I was prepared in many ways before getting cancer. No one can every fully prepare for something like this, but some of the things I did before I got sick have helped me. I was in excellent physical condition; this didn’t keep me from getting cancer, but it sure has helped me tolerate the treatments better that had I been unhealthy at the start. Financially, Christi and I had everything in order: an emergency fund, health and life insurance, etc. I had enough life insurance already to take care of my family in case…you know. It’s locked in. Today, I’m probably uninsurable. Preparation on our part helped secure my family’s future.
Since I’ve been sick, I’ve had countless visits and phone calls from friends and family, especially those from church. Again, by God’s grace and mercy, we were already members of a loving church who stepped up to support us. It’s hard to form those relationships after the fact. The same is true with family. It’s much easier to support and care for someone in a trial when you already have a loving, genuine relationship.
Many people “find faith” during a crisis. They pay no regard to God until suddenly they have a serious need. Of course Jesus will still save them and won’t even say, “I told you so.” But, how much better is it to enter a trial with a strong faith in God’s promises than to try to develop one in the midst of the storm? The time to develop a relationship with Christ is now, not once the first bullet flies, because when it does, you will revert back to your level of training.
Being well trained, or prepared, will not save us from every situation. But, it will certainly help us endure troubles that Jesus promised would come. Ask God to help you prepare your mind, body, soul, and finances. This doesn’t lessen the need for His grace, but is an example of how profound it really is. We wouldn’t fight these battles without our Lord, so train as you fight.
Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. (Prov 20:4 NLT)
Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. (Prov 21:5 NLT)
Amen! I will take this to heart and implement some new strategies! Bless you all!