Growing up, I loved to read about battles and the tactics employed by both sides. Living in the South there were several battlefields within easy driving distance and I took advantage of this close proximity. Walking these hallowed battlefields was humbling as well as inspiring with their stories of bravery, sacrifice, and tactical brilliance.
One of my favorite military commanders was General Stonewall Jackson of the Confederate Army. As I grew older and read more about his leadership it became apparent that he was a master of the "Defeat in Detail" military tactics. This same military strategy had been practiced by Napoleon during his first campaign in Italy during the French Revolution. His French army of less than 37,000 men defeated 52,000 Piedmontese and Habsburg troops with rapid stunts and advances that kept the opposing commanders off-balance and prevented the two nations from combining their armies.
Using these same principles, Stonewall Jackson defeated three Union commands (which had over 60,000 combined soldiers) with his own army of less than 17,000 soldiers. He fought each of his opposing enemy columns while making sure that their commands never combined by using speed, distance and terrain as his assets. His 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign is considered one of the most brilliant military tactics in all of history.
In a more modern context, General Rommel of the German forces in World War II used this same strategy to keep the British armies at bay in Northern Africa. His force was finally defeated by the American General George Patton, who had read Rommel's book of military tactics and deployed his own battlefield positions to take advantage of Rommel's stated tactics of attacking opposing armies.
However, this strategy is not just confined to military battles. We have an enemy who is a brilliant tactician and one of his favorite tactics is isolate and defeat. If Satan can keep us from fellowship and accountability from other believers he can drive us to discouragement and powerlessness. Our strength resides in Jesus, and abiding in Him is the only way we can obtain victory. But God also uses other believers in our lives to encourage, discipline and strengthen each other as we navigate the battlefields of this life. Without awareness of the danger of being divided, isolated and defeated, we are doomed to defeat. Living our life separated from the Word of God, the wisdom of the Spirit of God and the fellowship of the people of God, we will suffer the same fate as numerous military commanders throughout history.
