“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I muttered under my breath. I was beginning to think the lieutenant had been a postal carrier wannabe; “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” stops the mail guys (anyone still believe that today?). This wasn’t any of those — it was a full-blown typhoon, but since we were operating quite a distance inland, it had diminished in intensity, but it was still pretty hairy!

We were patrolling in the Que Son Mountains of Vietnam, searching for North Vietnamese Army (NVA) units that we had driven from their base camp. Determination is one thing, but this was a whole different level. Torrential rains were turning the path into a quagmire, and tree limbs and debris were flying like missiles. A quick word from the platoon sergeant, and the lieutenant turned back for the shelter of the enemy caves. I think of that every time I watch some news guy on camera leaning into hurricane force winds (usually hanging on to a pole) to dramatize the broadcast. In the Marine Corps, we call that “good initiative, bad judgement”! The funniest one was when several guys walked behind, chatting away, oblivious to the fact they had “photobombed” the weather reporter.

On the plus side, there is something to be said about leaning into it. Scripture gives us some examples of believers who have leaned into it. In Acts 27, the Apostle Paul is a prisoner on his way to Rome after being imprisoned for two years in Caesarea. His warning to the ship’s captain and the centurion about the danger ahead was ignored. They sailed from Alexandria and were caught in a storm. “But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster [KJV, ‘Euroclydon’], struck down from the land” (Acts 27:14, ESV). This was the Mediterranean version of a typhoon (my twin brother Roger experienced one a few years ago visiting Italy).

Paul could have kept his mouth shut, but he leaned into it. “Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So, take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told” (Acts 27:22-25). God rewarded his faith as the centurion prevented his soldiers from killing all the prisoners when the ship ran aground.

For many years after retiring, I stepped away from my military heritage, disappointed with the direction the military services were going. In 1997, I began to sense God calling me to once again lean into His calling as a spiritual warrior. The Lord began to show me that the nature of the spiritual warfare we are in is similar to the warfare I experienced in Vietnam. Just as insurgents, lacking the power to overthrow a government, resort to guerrilla warfare, using fear, intimidation, and brutality, so Satan uses these same tactics today. At the same time, God began opening doors for me to become engaged with men — men desiring to live courageously for King Jesus.

These Men of Valor Devotions spring from the heart of God. As I seek to lean into His work, I am challenged and encouraged by mighty men of God; men like you and I who know that we are not mighty in ourselves, but we serve a mighty God. We push forward in His strength. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Brothers, God has a holy calling for each and every one of us. He can and will make each of us a mighty man, empowered by His Spirit to turn the tide of iniquity and lawlessness. Through Isaiah we see this promise: “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (59:19, KJV). The literal translation of that verse is “When the foe comes like a flood, Jehovah’s Spirit shall drive on against him” (The Interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English Bible, Volume Three).

There is a flood of iniquity and lawlessness in the land today, and Satan is the author of it.

Let me close with these lyrics from the Maranatha! Music song “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”: “In heavenly Armour we’ll enter the land, The battle belongs to the Lord. No weapon that’s fashioned against us shall stand; The battle belongs to the Lord. When the power of darkness comes in like a flood, The battle belongs to the Lord. He’s raised up a standard, the power of His blood, The battle belongs to the Lord.”

I, for one, am tired of playing defense. It’s time to lean into it and “drive on”! What say ye, Man of Valor?