Disclaimer:  When I think about Navy Seals and my own faith, I have a long way to go, however, I do know we are made to be like Navy Seals.  I write this blog as a hope to myself and others: that there is so much more…

In Mark 16, after Jesus died and resurrected, He appeared to his disciples, and they still had doubt, even after knowing Him personally and seeing the incredible miracles regularly.  Here is the passage:

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:14-18) 

I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like Navy Seal type character: superhero’s who are invincible.  As believers, we all know the great commission, right?  But we forget or ignore what signs should follow, to those who believe.  I have been extremely challenged by this verse because it just seems,well, too miraculous, right? This was until I learned and met believers who do indeed have these signs that follow them.  Some are to include John G. Lake, David Hogan, Heidi Baker, Todd White, Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman and many more.

I will take David Hogan for example.  He has dedicated his life to preaching the gospel in Mexico.  He has been shot in the head (and survived), bitten by venomous snakes (and survived), has prayed over countless people with various illnesses (and they have been healed) and has raised so many from the dead (through Jesus).  I am barely scratching the surface. If you want to be encouraged, go on youtube, type in his name and watch some videos.  They will completely change your life and your way of thinking, but only if you believe.

We, as believers, especially if we are truly going after God, will have a constant bulls-eye on us.  If you think you become a Christian and life becomes a walk in the park, that is not the true gospel.    Here are some of the trials I have faced since becoming a Christian: persecution, miscarriage, both children had near death experiences as babies, almost dying in Africa and having a chronic illness  for a few years after Priya was born.  In Christ, you can walk through the fire and come out not even smelling like smoke.

(King Nebuchadnezzar threw 3 servants of God into the fire because they did not bow down to idols)

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.  Daniel 3:27

Not only did it make the King believe in God, but he also promoted them.

Ok, so back to the title of the blog, I am going to use some of my testimony to make it personal, and I encourage you that whatever you walk through (in Christ) a trial you can overcome, because all things are possible to him who b e l i e v e s.  I am going to use this youtube video as a point of reference, it is 8 minutes and boy, did the Holy Spirit speak to me!

There is a scene where they are in the water, around 2:35.  It’s about pool comp: they need to remain calm in stressful situations, the seal instructions do shark attacks, wait until all bubbles are out, take air away, take their mask off, thump them in head to bring disorientation in the water, and pull their straps apart. Then, they have to put themselves back together in the right order, remaining calm with whatever air you have, and if you go to surface, your out. Isn’t that was the devil does? When everything is well, he comes in like a thief in the night (to kill, steal and destroy) and attacks from all angles.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

This is exactly what it seemed like to me when I first fell ill (clinical diagnoses of lyme disease).  From being completely healthy and well, to being all of a sudden bombarded with constant symptoms of: nausea, vision blurriness, severe weight loss, dizziness, food sensitivities, loss of appetite, heart palpitations, chest heaviness, mind fog, chills in brain, extreme weakness, back pain, and too many more to list.   I literally believed this sickness was going to be the end for me.  Stress, anxiety and fear only made the symptoms worse, so I needed to stay calm, just like these seals had to do.

Doctors or meds weren’t helping and I found that I had to set my mind on victory, but the good news for me was, He already paid the price for my healing when He died on the cross (Isaiah 53:5), and when I started to battle FROM victory and not FOR victory, it made quite the difference.  Of course it wasn’t overnight, but daily, I had to stand on what the word of God said over my symptoms, until they started to go away.  My sword was the word, and it got sharpened through the process, especially in the area of renewing my mind and not listening to the lies that didn’t align with the truth of Gods word.  It was by far one of the hardest seasons of my life and now, my heart for healing has grown, my authority in Christ, my mind has been transforming, and have much less tolerance for just “going through” life circumstances.

Here are some of the parallels:

Perseverance:

We set our minds to victory no matter matter the cost and do not waver, because if we do there is a cost involved

Average Joe’s:

We all start out completely average, but we are dedicated towards being invincible

Passionate:

It’s a complete leap of faith to say yes, but we believe in it with all of our heart

Vigorous determination:

We make it priority over anything else, and work at it with everything we have because we come to an understanding that if we don’t, there are consequences

Focus on the end goal, not the current hardship

If we focus on how hard the current situation is instead of the goal, it becomes our focus rather than the prize at the end

Be able to give an answer 

We have to be able to give an answer to anyone who asks about anything related to who we are

Work together

We are to have the same mindset and complete unity, because if one person is off, it affects the entire team.  We are also to put others above ourselves and never think we are better.

If you’re wanting a little more, I recently watched a clip from the movie “Act of Valor” of Navy Seals rescuing a woman being held hostage.  Man, if we as believers could have the heart to rescue the one from eternal separation from God (and dare I say risk our lives), the world would look totally different.  This clip challenged me to the core of my being:

If Navy Seals are willing to do this, and we as believers are even too scared to talk to someone we know or a stranger about Jesus, then I would easily say that Navy Seals have way more confidence in what they believe in, then we have in our faith.  Let’s start actually believing what the bible says and come to an understanding of Who we carry.