Convoy as a verb

The LORD is a warrior; 'I AM' is his name.  -Exodus 15:3

A brother of mine recently challenged me to consider the word "convoy". We usually think of convoy as a noun - a group of ships or vehicles traveling together for mutual safety or benefit. That is certainly valid, and we have taken advantage of that definition in our approach within Convoy. But in many dictionaries, that is actually the secondary definition of the word. The primary definition lists "convoy" as a verb meaning "to accompany or escort, usually for protection". To convoy is to travel alongside of something of value, which is in need of protection, for the purpose of ensuring its safe delivery to a destination.

So be watchful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.  -Deuteronomy 5:32

BOOM! Incorporating that idea into my thinking clarifies mission. Convoy never needs to become a "holy huddle", where we gather to commiserate about how hard life is, then reluctantly leave to go get our daily beating. Foxhole is not a retreat where we lick our wounds and cry on each other's shoulders. Instead, Convoy is where I go to learn to convoy the precious cargo that God has entrusted to my care. Foxhole is a place where I come to strategize with godly men on what that looks like and to compare notes on which tactics are working best under which conditions. 

Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.  -Psalm 144:1

Yes, there is an element of triage in the Foxhole. If my buddy is in crisis, I'm not going to watch him bleed out. But make no mistake - there is a real spiritual battle going on and we are on mission to see that God's valuables make it home. At the risk of mixing my metaphors here, one of the guys I meet with compared foxhole to a pit stop in auto racing: We need some gas in the tank and a we may change out a tire or two, but we aren't camping here. We're just stopping off momentarily so we can go a few more laps!

Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.  -2 Samuel 10:12

Watch this space as we expand on the implications of this idea in the coming weeks.

We are back at the Lodge this week (Sep21), for a follow-up challenge from Bob Mitchell's story about the relationships that have drawn us and keep us close to Christ. 

Heads up, eyes open!