As believers, we are told we are in a battle against the powers of darkness—a spiritual battle. As soldiers in God’s spiritual army, we have a choice about how we will respond when the battle gets heated. Will we hunker down and just try to survive, or will we act with power, courage, and heroism? Staff member C’havala Crawley, who leads CRM’s strategic prayer initiative, has an impactful “war-time” illustration of this. Here’s the challenge C’havala received from God:
On a past date night I went with my husband Colin to see Dunkirk. (Ahem, I don’t recommend this as a date night film. I spent the whole film in a state of hyper-vigilant suspense. I am requesting a date night re-do.)
The next day, during a quiet time with God I heard him asking me to consider the different behaviors of the people in the film who were in “survival mode” and contrast them with others who were displaying acts of heroism.
Without spoilers, those who were merely “surviving” displayed crippling fear, aggression stemming from self-preservation, despair, territoriality, blame, and some were so traumatized they had ceased to function.
Those who were acting heroically, on the other hand, whilst still afraid, exhibited a completely different set of behaviors and beliefs. They moved towards danger without much thought for self-preservation, they responded to need with everything that they had no matter how small it was, they made decisions in the face of hard logic to the contrary in order to accomplish a higher goal even in the face of extreme risk, and they laughed in the face of panic and despair. In short, they continued to believe in miracles and remained tenacious until they came to pass. They never gave up hope. Watch the film and you’ll see what I mean.
Of course, there was a point to what God was asking me to think about and I was able to repent of places in my life where I had stopped believing for a miracle, had given up hope, and entered into survival mode.
When crisis hits I don’t want to be hunkered down looking out for number one! I want to run toward danger knowing fully the comfort and protection of my Father. Here in the UK, it is time for the Church to rise up and out of survival mode. It is time for acts of heroism and bold courageous exploits. In the United States, the Church needs a new kind of voice. Both postures require courage and heroism.
I encourage you to ask God if there are places in your life where you are hunkered down and barricaded or even aggressively protecting yourself. Let him comfort you and remind you of his power and presence. If you need a highly stressful visual prompt, go watch Dunkirk. (But not on a date!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C’havala Crawley and her husband Colin live in London, England. They work with CRM-UK to mobilize the Church and catalyze movements of the gospel. C’havala also leads the Strategic Prayer team, part of CRM’s Prime prayer initiative.