Joining the Great Battle

"I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life."

Have you ever heard that? Ever said it? I’ve probably said it as often as I’ve heard it. Many people in their twenties are in the same spot: big passion, small direction. Desires are strong to live for something worthwhile, lasting, and enjoyable—maybe even for The Kingdom—but they aren’t exactly sure about the what, the where, and the how. I’ve been there. (Truth be told, I may still be.)

I woke up this morning with one clear thought: "Where, Lord, is the great battle of our day? Where can I join the front line of your Kingdom? Where can I make the most impact for Truth?" Immediately I thought of frontier missions. But then I thought about the classroom—and then the courtroom. Then academia. Then the media. Then the arts. Then the factory floor. Then…I realized that the battle is all around us—we are in the thick of it nearly everywhere. And I think this is the way it’s supposed to be: the 'front line' is neither geographical nor vocational; it’s just plain everywhere. The 'front line' is anywhere a loyal subject of the High King of Heaven is in contact with a slave of (or an idea from) the dark 'lord' of hell. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer suggests that "The only way to follow Jesus [is] by living in the world." The Cost of Discipleship, p. 48) It seems that we should think of expanding the Kingdom of Heaven on earth in and through a vocation (and nearly *any* vocation at that), and not just for a vocation. "Whatever you do, do all things to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31) So the battle line here—the external one—is drawn: it’s everywhere and anywhere, and it’s against the ideas and values and lifestyles of the enemy. (See 2 Cor. 10:3-5)

And I thought further that there is no battle so fierce as the one that rages daily in my own mind, heart, and flesh. This is the first and most violent of the battlefields, where the cost of losing is perilously higher to me than anywhere else: "for what shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and yet lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36) The reward for victory is also greatest here: for "greater is he that rules his own soul than he that takes a city." (Proverbs 16:32) We can do wonders in and through a vocation, and yet if we haven’t conquered the inner land of our own heart, "it profits us nothing." So the other battle line—the internal one—is also drawn: it’s in our own minds and hearts as well.

By waging and winning the internal battle (being "not of" the world) while living "in the world," we join the front lines wherever we are. So, the battle lines are drawn: where and how you join is (your decision and your destiny. If you’re looking for guidance for the details, look to the Word—he has promised to "show you the path of life." (Psalm 16:11) The Wisdom of God is imparted through the revealed Word of God as illuminated by the Spirit of God: "in all your getting, get wisdom." Plumb the depths diligently, and apply the gold rigorously in deciding the details, and "then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

Recommended Reading:
God’s Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, by Elisabeth Elliot (192 warm and helpful pages)
TwentySomeone, by Doug Serven and Craig Dunham (240 very enjoyable pages)
Decision-Making and the Will of God, by Garry Friesen (462 meaty and pages)
The rigorous application of scriptural wisdom in making both major and minor life decisions is well exemplified in Elisabeth Elliot’s Passion and Purity, and her Through Gates of Splendour.