What does it mean to be a part of God’s army?

When I received the suggested topic for the blog for May I really got excited about the thoughts God was bringing into my mind about what it means to be a part of God’s army. Here are a few of them; though you may think of many more:

• We’ve been invited to be a part of His army—Luke 9:23, 24
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

• We must qualify—Heb. 12:1. 2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

• We must be trained—Matt. 11:28-30
Matt 11:28-30
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."

• We must listen to and follow our leader’s instructions as well as where He leads us—2 Tim. 2: 3, 4
Be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

• We must keep our focus on the goal—Matt. 28:19, 20
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

• We must trust the person in charge of the mission—Prov. 3:5, 6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

• We are a ‘part’ of the army, so we must work together with others to fulfill the mission—Rom. 12:1-6
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
God has a personal plan for each of us in His army. Not only that, but he also has a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. He uses the events that we encounter toward His great goal of conforming us into His image as we trust His leadership in our lives. We learn to see His hand in all the circumstances of our lives and know that he is absolutely trustworthy as the Commander in Chief of His army!

*note: all Scripture verses are from the NLT