“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” (Ephesians 4:9-10)
Over three (3) years ago I attended and completed the Army Chaplain School or officially known as Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership Course, or CH-BOLC for short. This experience was one of the most intense and difficult experiences of my life. It was thirteen (13) weeks of long days that consisted of many physical, emotional, mental, and even social challenges. One of the social challenges was being able to relate to approximately 120 other classmates from other Christian and religious backgrounds. Obviously since there were so many classmates it was impossible to know all of them on a personal level. Even those that I did not interact with much during CH-BOLC we share a common bond. As a result, in the three (3) years since my CH-BOLC graduation I have ran into various classmates in many different situations and settings, and each time we meet there is camaraderie because we know what we went through together. In this past few months God has shown me this with the development of my friendship with Scott Speight.
Scott and I were in completely different platoons during CH-BOLC. I was in platoon one (1) and he was in platoon four (4), which meant we rarely interacted with one another. However, through Facebook and God’s providence in recent months we have connected and the Lord has developed a strong bond (Chaplains, no pun intended) with one another. This bond began as I wanted to pursue Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) for myself and Scott is a CPE supervisor. He is also the CEO of Spiritual Care Center, which is a Christian coaching firm that you should check out at www.spiritualcarecenter.org. As Scott and I began exploring a professional partnership with one another a personal friendship has blossom. This would not have happened if it were not for our CH-BOLC experience, which provided the foundation and the camaraderie needed for us to have a mutual basis of respect and credibility for the other. As a result, I’ve been grateful to get some CPE experience, but I’ve also been elated to begin a friendship with Scott on a foundational experience that was laid three (3) years ago.
Ephesians 4:9-10 reminds us “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.” I don’t know what the future holds for me and Scott’s and friendship, but I do know it never would have happened if we had not allowed God to place us in the same difficult experience. Therefore, our “good reward” has allowed us to “lift the other up” and as Proverbs 27:17 indicates, we have sharpened each other’s iron for God’s glory.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me encourage you to embrace the experiences that God provides you with, even if you are afraid of them. I had plenty of fear going into to CH-BOLC because I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t let the fear get the best of me. Rather I trusted the Lord and believed there would be lifelong benefits from CH-BOLC, plus it was better than doing nothing with my life. Therefore, we must remember that our experiences become a platform of opportunity for our lives, but we have to put ourselves in the position to experience them.
So let me encourage you to ask yourself; what can you do with your life today? What is God calling you towards in your life? You may not be able to go join the military or other endeavors, but I’m willing to guess that you have more opportunities than you may want to admit. Be encouraged, open your eyes and find God’s opportunity for you today. Remember, these opportunities may be scary, but by experiencing them they and the Lord provide us with even more opportunities and blessings in the future, no matter how big or small. It begins with your obedience to God’s leading in your life!
Remember it’s not about what you CANNOT do; it is about what you CAN DO!
