Tuesday, June 17, 2003
They have always been a major deciding factor in military victory or military defeat. It's just that most of us don't realize it. But the critical importance of the logistics forces became very apparent when Coalition forces invaded Iraq in "Operation Iraqi Freedom." As they moved at lightning speed across Iraq, the combat supply lines were quickly stretched across 200 miles of unforgiving desert. USA Today said, "To re-arm, feed and fuel the advancing forces, military logisticians have built one of the longest, most sophisticated supply lines ever fielded in war." They are the people who deliver what the military calls the "beans, bullets and black oil." In Iraq, for example, the 90,000 troops inside the country drank an average of 400,000 gallons of water a day. And just to give you an idea of the massive fuel deliveries needed, one Abrams tank gets less than a mile to a gallon and it needs 300 gallons of gas every eight hours. USA Today reported that "for every soldier or Marine firing a weapon at the enemy, there are at least nine helping make this fight possible." Is it any wonder a retired four-star general called them "the unsung heroes"?
Well,
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Unsung Heroes."
The army of God has plenty of unsung heroes, too. Probably at least nine of them for every one who's on the front lines, and you may be one of those unsung heroes. But because you're unsung, you may not realize what a hero you are. But without people like you, the operations of the army of God grind to a halt.
You are in God's "Aaron and Hur" Unit. Their story is told in Exodus 17, beginning with verse 11. As General Joshua leads the Israelite army into battle against the Amalekites, Moses climbs to the top of a hill, raises his arms toward heaven, and intercedes with God for the army. The Bible says, "As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired ... Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."
Amazing! It ultimately was not the warriors on the field who decided the outcome of the battle. It was the support troops on the hill. I've been assigned by God to front lines service for a long time, and, believe me, I know the support troops are often, if not always, the difference between victory and defeat. You may be a prayer warrior for some who are fighting Christ's battles on the front lines. You may be one who gives so they have the ammunition and supplies to stay there. You may be someone who volunteers time at church or in a ministry, and you may think what you do is not very big or not very important.
If you're doing it for Jesus, you are doing it for the One who said, "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple ... he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42) A little thing done for the greatest cause there is, is not a little thing anymore! So don't be weary in well doing! Make the most of whatever contribution, whatever gift, whatever opportunity your Master has given you. Jesus has asked you to join Him in the work He started when He came here - His unfinished work on this planet. In God's own words, "Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)