No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
The minute we begin to execute the strategy,
The game is going to change.
Helmuth von Moltke
Strategy (strategia) is most commonly defined as “generalship,” and as a result we most frequently associate it with military planning. Those seeds were sown into our fabric some 2,500 years ago when the Chinese general, Sun Tzu, wrote the definitive work on military strategies and tactics, The Art of War.
Strategy is not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions.
That book has been the cornerstone of military thinking and business tactics for centuries and sits in the libraries of successful men and women all around the world.
But while Sun Tzu may have defined “strategy” in military terms it has a personal meaning for us beyond the marshalling and deployment of troops. It’s all about the organizing and utilization of our resources. It encompasses multiple concepts that we use in the structuring of our plan to achieve a desired goal. Individual strategy incorporates our thoughts, ideas, experiences, skills, expertise and expectations in considering how a desired goal is to be accomplished. But without a firm understanding of the object of our strategy — the end result — the actions we take are going to result in little more than “organized floundering.”
Strategy is not just about the end, it’s about the means to that end. It is more concerned with how we are going to achieve our aims rather than how they were established or whether or not they are correct in the first place. When we adopt a strategy to achieve a desired goal it’s a reflection of our choices that will ultimately lead to an outcome.
When establishing our strategy we set our direction and provide the focus for our efforts. In the process we become involved in developing the plan. But we need to understand strategy and planning are two related but different concepts. A general’s strategy may be to position his army in such a way that he outflanks the enemy and cuts off his supply routes, thereby winning the war. However, the general’s plan of carrying out that strategy involves all the details of the movement of men and material to affect the strategy. The same holds true for the individual. We need to establish our strategy and then the plan to carry it.
Real success in life is the result of a successfully developed and executed strategy. Our strategic response to a desired goal sets our course for action and provides us with a central focus for our effort. The same holds true for those times when we find ourselves responding to challenges imposed on us from our environment. In either case, simply making reactive decisions “on the fly” more often than not will result in an even further departure from the intended goal.
Strategy, in its simplest form, is our basic road map. It’s how we establish the direction for our life. But it needs to be constantly evaluated as a guide for the course of action we need to take — moving us from our current state to a desired future state. One of the benefits of a clearly thought out and implemented strategy is the consistency it provides in our life. It is a very critical component in defining who we are and why we are at a particular place at a given point in time. Without it, determining our next step is bound to be problematic.
In the end, strategy defines the “there” we want to get to. Our journey is affected by decisions and choices that we make along the way and it reflects our perspective; our vision. It formulates for us how we are going to attain the established goal and the resulting plan tells us what tactics, steps and resources are required. And today, more than ever, it’s less about planning ahead in life and more about continuous monitoring of the environment we live in and quickly adapting to the situation and responding rapidly.
Have you got a strategy? Is it a winning one?
Thank God we don’t have to have one … He worked it all out for us. And the beauty of His strategy is that we already know the outcome. But since we don’t know the day or the hour of that outcome it’s critical to understand just how we fit into that strategy and the role we play.
God established His strategy for victory before time began; the salvation of His people. That strategy was made perfect with His plan that required the sacrifice of His son on the cross. That plan is still playing out today and we are intimately involved with and affected by the tactics He has established to combat the enemy through to the end. And fortunately for us, as opposed to the military general and his army, we don’t have to concern ourselves with the outcome. We do, however, have to contend with the battle and the shifting and changing tactics of the enemy. Yet even here the Lord has provided us with a clear definition of the enemy’s tactics and the armor and weapons — both offensive and defensive — we are to use to move ahead in the battle (Eph 6).
Our part in carrying out this “perfect” strategy is to listen for our “general” to lead us through the battle. He is the one that anticipates every move of the enemy and has the perfect counter move in hand. Where we fail is to becoming too involved in the daily battle itself to pause and listen for that direction. And while I am confident that He will yell over the noise if need be, I am also very certain He would rather speak to us in the quite before the battle erupts.
While God’s strategy is perfectly sound and has already won the war, the battles are still at hand every day. The enemy in his already defeated position is waging a war bent on utter destruction through deception, confusion, chaos and turmoil. His goal is to disrupt us from completing our part of the battle plan; the spreading of the gospel message. It is a war he will continue until the last battle is waged and his power and position are once and forever removed.
So as you rise every morning, don’t be in a hurry to rush into the battle without first checking with “The” General. Take time to reflect on the fact that the outcome of the war is pre-ordained and that you already stand as a victor. Arm yourself for battle and remember the words of Paul as you prepare to enter the battlefield:
Eph 6:11-14 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
This is the action of a victor, one who has already won the battle. Look at the first use of the word “stand”; having done all to stand. It is the word steenai (histemi) and it means when you have done everything necessary to stand; when you have done what is asked. Then he says stand therefore. It’s another meaning of the word steete (histemi) which means to stand firmly as one on the victory platform; one that has gained the victory. Or as the Amplified Bible puts it…
… and having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground] …
That’s the secret that is going to get us through these troubled times. It is knowing that our God’s strategy is perfect and that His battle plan is sure. We can faithfully advance into the battle knowing that we in fact have already won the war and our wounds are but temporary.
I am reminded of General George Patton who defeated Field Marshall Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corps in the famous World War II North African battle at El Guettar. As the battle turned in favor of Patton it was noted that his response in the face of the retreating Germans was; Rommel, (expletives deleted) I read your book!
And so it is with us. Our general already knows every move the enemy will ever make and the outcome is never in doubt. The only thing in doubt is how we will fight the battle. Let us not forget the words of Sun Tzu:
So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles. But if you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or lose. And if you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.
God has revealed the enemy to us and He is continually revealing ourselves to us; we know them both. Through His Spirit therefore we are able to fight without danger in battles. We are able to stand, and stand as a victor about to receive the prize. It’s the secret to the Art of War.