THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM - The Warrior's Journey®
Helplessness

THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM

Author: David Causey, USA (Ret.)

Flight Maintenance Checks. Photo by The U.S. Army is licensed under CC By 2.0

Do you have a rat infestation in your home?  Be sure to get the right solution for the problem…

Solution-Focused

U.S. Army Sgt. Johnny Bonilla, a gunner and cannon crewmember assigned to Chaos Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, dials in a target of an M777 Howitzer during a live fire exercise as part of Saber Junction 19 (SJ19) at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 11, 2019. SJ19 is an exercise involving nearly 5,400 participants from 16 ally and partner nations at the U.S. Army’s Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, Sept. 3 to Sept. 30, 2019. SJ19 is designed to assess the readiness of the U.S. Army’s 173rd Infantry Airborne Brigade to execute land operations in a joint, combined environment and to promote interoperability with participating allies and partner nations. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Mort)

…Using poisons to kill rats is painful and inefficient.  It takes up to 48 hours for the rat to die.  Cats, despite the reputation for mouse and rat killing, just aren’t up to the job – especially with large rats.  And even when a cat finally kills a rat, it’s only after playing with it for hours.

No, if you’ve got an infestation of rats there’s really only one way to deal with them quickly and efficiently.  Call in the Norfolk and Suffolk Rat Pack of the UK.  They’ve been dealing with rat infestations on farms and other locales for years.  What’s their secret?  They use terriers – mostly Norfolk and Suffolk terriers, along with some Whippets.  A team of eight such terriers can kill 730 rats in seven hours, prying the pests from some of the most inaccessible places.  Norfolk and Suffolk terriers may seem like cute little fun dogs.  But once the joy of rat-killing gets into their system they become relentless hunters, dispatching each rat in only 2-3 seconds.  The website at the end of this article posts videos of these dogs doing their work.  It’s amazing to see them in action.

Getting the right tool for the job of rat-catching is somewhat like getting the right kind of help in fighting the hordes of hell.  We need divine help in all our battles.  Isn’t that what Jesus told Peter when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus.  “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).  In other words, “If I need any fighting done for Me, I’ll call in those who specialize in killing the wicked – angels.”  Remember what just one angel did to the 185-thousand in the army of Assyria (Isaiah 37:36)?

Divine S.O.S.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Steven Rowe with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, posts security during a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure training as part of exercise HYDRACRAB, Santa Rita, Guam, Aug. 27, 2019. HYDRACRAB is a multilateral exercise conducted by U.S. Marines and Sailors with military service members from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The purpose of this exercise is to prepare the participating explosive ordnance disposal forces to operate as an integrated, capable, and effective allied force ready to operate in a changing and complex maritime environment throughout the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Kelly Rodriguez)

Yes, we need to seek divine help in our spiritual battles.  Isn’t that really what Paul meant when he told us to put on the armor of God?  It’s not merely the armor that comes from God or belongs to God.  It’s the armor that consists of God – His attributes of power, love, and wisdom to save and preserve us.  That’s why he preceded his admonition by telling us to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

The idea is that we acknowledge our own helplessness before the foes who afflict us – or before the situation that confronts us – and plead to God to do the job He is infinitely more capable of doing.  Look at King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20.  There were three kingdoms that were subservient to him and paid him tribute: Ammon, Moab, and Edom.  These three united in rebellion against Jehoshaphat and attacked his land.  Now Jehoshaphat had a powerful army of over 1 million soldiers drawn from Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon (2 Chronicles 17:14-19).  Certainly this was more than enough to handle the rebels who threatened him.  Right?

But King Jehoshaphat was a man of God.  He knew that things can go horribly wrong in war and that while unbelievers trust in princes, armies, and chariots, God’s people needed to trust in Him (Isaiah 31:1).  Plus, Jehoshaphat knew that God is infinitely better at waging war than man is. Just look at how effective Christ will be against all the evil forces mustered against Him in Revelation 19:11-21.  Therefore, Jehoshaphat made prayer his first response to the crisis.  And in His prayer, he said, “O our God, will You not judge them?  For we are helpless before this multitude who are coming against us. Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

The Perfect Advisor

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan, gives a soldier assigned to Forward Operating Base Ghazni a thump on his body armor as he thanked him for his service and sacrifice. During Allen's battlefield circulation to Regional Command-East Aug. 15, he received several operational briefings, met with the Ghazni provincial governor and thanked U.S., Polish and Afghans for their commitment to the future of Afghanistan. ISAF is a key component of the international community's engagement in Afghanistan, assisting Afghan authorities in providing security and stability while creating the conditions for reconstruction development.

Sure, Jehoshaphat had a million-man army.  But he refused to trust in it in place of God.  And his faith in God paid off.  The following day King Jehoshaphat sent forth his army, but he did something very unconventional.  He placed Levitical singers and musicians at the forefront and ordered them to sing and play, “O give thanks to the LORD, for His mercy endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21).  As a result, not one of the king’s soldiers had to do any fighting.  God stepped in and turned the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites against each other.  Not only did they slaughter each other, but they left behind so much loot that it took three days for Judah’s army to carry it away (2 Chronicles 20:22-30).

God is always the right Person, the right answer, and the right Advisor for the job.  We’d be fools to ignore Him and lean exclusively on ourselves.  Sure, God gives us intelligence and resources to resolve our problems.  But God created us for intimate fellowship with Him.  He doesn’t want us to ignore Him and live independently of Him.  Jesus suffered incalculably in order to reconcile us to the Father.  Now that we’re reconciled, shall we go back to ignoring God by making prayer our last resort instead of our first response?  We spend far too much time giving our attention to the problem or to rebuking Satan, than we do praying to and worshiping God.  Let’s give God our focused attention, prayer, and worship.

PRAYER

Dear Father in heaven, I know that prayer is not a substitute for hard work and faith is not a replacement for common sense.  But, Father, You can multiply my efforts by Your divine power.  You can turn my common sense into supernatural wisdom and insight – whenever I look to You in prayer.  Whenever I’m confronted with a problem, please let me be like King Jehoshaphat – whose eyes remained on You. Amen.


Photos:
-https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/48744833843/
-https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/48705545306/
-https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/6055418029/

(Information from: https://www.odditycentral.com/animals/pack-of-eight-dogs-exterminate-730-rats-in-just-seven-hours.html)

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