Cover My Back

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

While I was in the service, I went through some anti-terrorist training. One phase of this training included serving on a five-person team which would be assigned to track down a security breach on a ship. Once we had found the security breach, we were to neutralize that threat. In order to do this we had to get down a hallway, which had been "occupied".

The fun part here was that I was the point man for the team. It was my job to go first, and draw fire, while the other members were to follow and provide cover fire for me. It did not work out that way. As I went through the hatch and started my advancement towards the threat, my fellow team members never came through the door. I was cut off and left alone to fend for myself. To say the least, once the terrorists (in this case Marines for training) saw that I was alone, they opened a concentrated fire of paint balls at me. Yes, I was deader then a doornail before I got ten feet!

We had to try again. I went through the door and started my advancement again. This time, one other came through the door with me. As we advanced, I was hit in the shoulder, and fell to the ground. As I went down and the terrorists turned their fire to my partner, I was finally able to get a shot off. We never did get the whole team through the door. I was hanging out there pretty much on my own.

The poetic justice here was that I was made the team leader for the security team. While I did not have to go first as the point man, I never left my team to hang out there on their own.

As Christians, we should remember that we are not left to hang out on our own. In effect, we do not go through the hatch alone. We have one who is always with us — one in whom we can put our trust. The second time I had to go through the hatch, I was not as eager, because I had little trust in the rest of the team to back me up. But with God we have that trust. In the scripture today we hear, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Prior to this verse, we are told not to worry. We should not worry because we should put our ultimate trust in God. He will provide for us. He will not forget us or let us go through the hatch alone. We have one who stands by us and supports us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we know that you will not leave us alone. You are always there with us through the good times and the bad. We thank you for covering our backs and watching over us. In Jesus' name. Amen.