The importance of fog lights

1 Samuel 17:45–47 KJV 1900

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

Deuteronomy 20:1–5 KJV 1900

When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Joshua 23:10 KJV 1900

One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

We all know high beams dont work very well in fog, so a special light was made that was lower to the ground that could cut below all of the fog. But even those lights are useless without reflective lines. In our battles we enter into whats called the fog of war and thats what I would like to preach about tonight is the importance of Fog Lights, and navigating throught the fog of war.

The fog of war is a reality in all military conflict. Precision and certainty are unattainable goals, but modern military doctrine suggests a trade-off of precision and certainty for speed and agility. Militaries employ command and control (C2) systems and doctrine to partially alleviate the fog of war.

The term also applies to the experience of individual soldiers in battle: often cited is the pure confusion of direction, location, and perspective on a battlefield. Officers and soldiers become separated, orders become confused and subject to revision with poor communication. Sounds and vision are limited from the perspective of the individual and may not be easily resolved, resulting in a continuing uncertainty, a perceptual "fog".

Now often, this is what happens to us as Christians when we go through things. Whenever the enemy comes in like a flood. We come into a fog of war. And the enemy blinds our sight with the pressure and chaos of the moment. It makes it hard to make decisions, to pray, to read our bible. In these moments we’re just trying to survive the tears and the pain.

One of the lessons of the recordings from the 1960s of conversations of the United States Cabinet, and new interviews with former-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was

Lesson #7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong.

McNamara affirms Morris' framing of lesson 7 in relation to the Gulf of Tonkin incident: "We see what we want to believe."

The Gulf of Tonkin incident (Vietnamese: Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It consisted of a confrontation on August 2, 1964, when United States forces were carrying out covert amphibious operations close to North Vietnamese territorial waters, which triggered a response from North Vietnamese forces. The United States government falsely claimed that a second incident occurred on August 4, 1964, between North Vietnamese and United States ships in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Originally, US military claims blamed North Vietnam for the confrontation and the ostensible, but in fact imaginary, incident on August 4. Later investigation revealed that the second attack never happened. The official American claim is that it was based mostly on erroneously interpreted communications intercepts.[5][6][7] The National Security Agency, an agency of the US Defense Department, had deliberately skewed intelligence to create the impression that an attack had been carried out.[8][9][10][11]

Now this is exactly what the devil does. He creates confusion and he creates chaos. He is the author of confusion the Bible tells us. And he will skew intelligence and create impressions amongst you to creat bitterness and to create insecurities and to create temptations! FOG LIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT!! We must stand on the word of God and HIS doctrine, what he says to us in our storms. Even though we may feel a certain way. We must seek God in our confusion to navigate the fog of war!

We see what we want to see:

In our times of war, we must recognize our inclination to lean on what we feel and our emotional responses that can create jaded views on what we see. For instance, we may see a terrible situation that seems unsolvable. But we serve the great problem solver. Our perspective must be based on who God is not what we see!

The Harvard business review wrote an article on business leadership titled, “Use doctrine to pierce the fog of business”. In this article they review and talk about the principles of business strategy and planning. The traditional tools of management — strategy and planning — are no longer sufficient. Strategy and planning are like high beams on a car; they just bounce off the fog. Strategy doesn’t give employees enough guidance to know how to take action, and plans are too rigid to adapt to changing circumstances. In rapidly changing environments, you need fog lights to get closer to the ground.

Business leaders recognize the importance of pushing decision-making down the organization and out to the front line. But delegation can lead to invisibility, inconsistency and even chaos. When driving, fog lights work best when there are lines on the road to follow. Doctrine is the military’s mechanism for managing the fog of war, pushing decision-making closer to the ground while providing the lines to guide decision-making and action. Doctrine creates the common framework of understanding inside of which individuals can make rapid decisions that are right for their circumstances. We believe doctrine offers a powerful model for executives looking to pierce the fog of business and find new ways of exerting influence without centralized control.

Just as NATO and other military giants have created their doctrines of war, and businesses are navigated by their doctrines of operations. We as Christians are navigated by Gods word. Would you like to know what Jesus did when he was in the fog of war when the devil was tempting in the wilderness? He quoted scripture.

Your doctrine of war must always be this:

To trust and rely wholly on Christ

To stand on scripture and not emotion

To pray! You must pray! Thats the only way you can rely wholly on Christ!

2660 Our adversary is a master strategist, forever fogging up our minds with smokescreens.

Chuck Swindoll

Through every valley, through every fight, where the fog is so dense we can not see. We must be guided by him! We must rely on him and hold to him even though we cant see!

When you’re confused turn to his word to shine light and bring clarity.

When your distraught and down trodden seek him and call on him to be your strength!

Its important to use your fog lights in the fog of war!

I dont know what kind of fog you may be in tonight, but its time to turn on your fog lights. Lean on the strong arm of Christ, trust in his word. Let him navigate the storm.

You must trust in the fight. You have to. There’s a lot that depends on it.