An Unfair Advantage: Victory in the Midst of BattleEsimerkki

Getting Off the X—Part 1

In my training, when you’re stuck on an ambush point or kill zone we call this being “stuck on the X.” I’ve been “stuck on the X” many times. Among the skills you learn in training is to first recognize that you are on the X and, second, that you have to get off it. Simple Marine Corps logic: you can’t stay there, or something bad is going to happen. 

One thing I love about the military is its training. For every scenario, you train over and over to the point of redundancy, so when the day for action comes, you don’t have to decide what to do; you just do it. 

What has kept me moving forward in battle was proper training and a belief that following that training would lead to victory. Having faith in something, and believing in advance that it will result in victory, will always give you the ability to press forward in times when all seems hopeless—when you find yourself on the X.

The reality is that the same confidence and faith I had in my training is available to all of us in our everyday lives if we trust God. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). This verse is a promise offered by God to each of us so that when the day of adversity comes and we find ourselves on the X, we can feel assured that moving forward will lead to victory. This promise will never exempt us from the hardships of this world, but those who trust this promise and pursue a life within God’s will can be assured that on the other side of hardships we will find ourselves where we were meant to be.