WAKE FOREST (BP) — As a chaplain in the U.S. Army, Major
Jeff Struecker said he admires those — like Caleb — who are willing to risk it
all.
The decorated chaplain, who was depicted in the movie “Black
Hawk Down” on the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, was the guest speaker in chapel
at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS).
Struecker spoke on the example of Caleb, preaching from
Joshua 14:6-15 recounting Caleb’s request to move into the promised land.
“I’m a fan of men and women who are willing to risk it all
for Jesus Christ,” Struecker said. Noting that Caleb and Joshua were the only
two who had enough faith to desire to move into the Promised Land, Struecker
said believers likewise must “practice faith if you’re going to learn to risk
it all.”
SEBTS photo Army chaplain Jeff Struecker, of “Black Hawk Down” fame, urges seminarians to pray, saying, “Give me the most difficult mission and I’ll go, knowing You will be faithful to me.” |
This is what Joshua and Caleb had been doing since first
seeking to go into the Promised Land against the advice of 10 of their
companions, Struecker said. “Joshua and Caleb were the only two men who have
the kind of faith to say, ‘Our God is big enough,’” the chaplain said. “You
can’t say you’ve exercised your faith until you’ve stepped into the dark and
risked it all.”
It was this faith that stirred Caleb — 40 years later — to
confidently take on the God-sized task of, once again, making the request to go
into and take the Promised Land, Struecker said, paraphrasing Caleb’s words to
Joshua: “… if you will let me, my family and I will go into the land, and I
know God — who has always been faithful — will be faithful to us in the
future.”
“It is this that inspires me more than anything else,”
Struecker said. “This man is saying, ‘Without God on my side, there is no way
I’ll win, and with Him on my side, there’s no way I’ll lose.’”
In God’s army, Struecker said, all believers are “generals”
under the command of the Great Commander, with certain expectations of actions
in battle.
“He is calling you to take risks. If you think you want a
ministry that is comfortable, you have something seriously wrong,” Struecker
said in his Oct. 27, 2010, visit to SEBTS’ North Carolina campus. “Some of the
most difficult mission fields are still out there and it’s my prayer you will
say, ‘Give me the most difficult mission and I’ll go, knowing You will be
faithful to me.’”
Because of this faith in God’s faithfulness and ability to
conquer, Caleb received a God-sized reward, Struecker said. “God overwhelmingly
gave him victory and ‘the land had rest from war,’” he said, quoting from verse
15.
“Because he was a man of faith, willing to bet it all on the
Lord, there was really no battle at all and the city of Hebron belongs to
Israel today,” Struecker said. “My prayer is that you would do something
radical across the globe because of your faith in Jesus. Say, ‘Give me that
hill country. Give me victory for our Savior Jesus Christ.’”
(SPECIAL NOTE — Thank you for your continued support of the Biblical
Recorder site. During this interim period while we are searching for a
new Editor/President the comments section will be temporarily
discontinued. Thank you for your understanding and patience in this. If
you do have comments or issues with items we run, please contact [email protected] or call 919-847-2127.)