Walking Through Wilderness Seasons: 3-Day Reading Plan by Levi Lusko and Brooke LigertwoodSample

Tough and Competent

It came at the sacrifice of three astronauts on Apollo 1: Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. These men burned to death while strapped into the cockpit of their command module. A fire broke out while they were belted in on the launchpad for a dress rehearsal. Everyone knew space could be deadly, but no one thought such a horrific tragedy would happen on the ground. Out of this tragedy, came the speech that saved NASA: tough and competent.

Gene Krantz, NASA flight controller, famously said: "...From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: “Tough and Competent.” Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do. We will never again compromise our responsibilities. Every time we walk into Mission Control we will know what we stand for. Competent means we will never take anything for granted. We will never be found short in our knowledge and in our skills. Mission Control will be perfect. When you leave this meeting today you will go to your office and the first thing you will do there is to write “Tough and Competent” on your blackboards. It will never be erased."

If it had not been for this tragedy, we might not have ever gone to the moon–we may have been stranded on the launchpad. However, a few well-placed words made an incalculable impact

So it is in scripture. Jesus picks up his pen to solve the problems of His church. In Revelation, Jesus addresses the issues and things that are holding us back–He speaks directly to the sin and idolatry in our hearts today. In all honesty, it’s a terrifying passage. Jesus sounds tough, even threatening. But, He's tough with us because He wants us to be competent. He is giving us the chance to get better. He’s coaching us.

You're not in a tough place because you've been left, forgotten, or unloved–the exact opposite is true! You're in a tough place because God is shaping, growing, sweetening, and building you. You’re being filled with grit and competence!

Jesus corrects us out of love. It's out of the ashes of difficulty that God is building you up to be tough, competent, and prepared to be used greatly.