🌿 Fresh Eyes: Fit for the Kingdom – Strengthened by Grace
When God’s grace doesn’t lower the standard — but strengthens the soldier.
We live in a culture that values comfort more than commitment — and sometimes that mindset seeps into our faith. But God doesn’t call us to a life of excuses. He calls us to readiness. His grace doesn’t bend to meet our weakness; it builds us to rise above it.
The Standard That Shapes Us
I recently read an excerpt from an interview with Trey Gowdy that made me pause — not politically, but spiritually.
He was asked about the military’s standards and why some people are disqualified from serving. His answer was straightforward
“Nobody has a right to serve in the military. The military is not an equal opportunity employer — it’s an institution built to win wars. It uses prejudice regularly and consistently: too old, too young, too heavy, too frail, poor eyesight, bad back, low endurance — all are reasons to be turned away.
The military has one mission: to win wars. If you can’t meet the standards, you don’t change the military — you change yourself to meet them.”
I realized the same principles echo spiritually.
In the Christian life, our battles aren’t for territory or domination, but for truth, faith, and lives transformed by God’s power. He equips His people — flaws and all — to love deeply, to serve humbly, and to stand firm when trials press in. God doesn’t wait for perfection before He calls; He perfects those He calls. It begins with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ — the foundation of all true transformation — and continues as we walk daily in obedience and grace.
That struck me deeply. Because in our modern world, many believers want God to bend His standards instead of asking Him to build their dependence on His strength.
We don’t just want God to lower the bar for our weaknesses; we often want Him to rewrite the rules around our desires, fears, and convenience.
We ask Him to make the Christian life fit our comfort instead of allowing His truth to reshape our character. We pray for lighter loads instead of stronger shoulders, and for fewer battles instead of greater faith.
The Purpose of God’s Standards
God’s standards are not barriers to belonging — they are blueprints for becoming.
He doesn’t call us to holiness to keep us out, but to bring us close. Just as the military sets high requirements to ensure unity and strength in battle, God’s commands protect His people and prepare them to represent Him.
“Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16 KJV)
Holiness isn’t about perfection; it’s about alignment — living in sync with God’s heart so His power can flow through us unhindered. If we want to carry His authority, we must also carry His character.
God’s standards never change, but when our obedience wavers, the result isn’t freedom — it’s loss of direction.
Throughout Scripture, obedience always led to blessing:
- Noah built the ark when others mocked, and his obedience preserved his family — proof that trusting God’s Word over human opinion always brings safety. (Genesis 6:22)
- Abraham left everything familiar at God’s command, and his obedience birthed a covenant that still blesses nations. (Genesis 12:1–3)
- Joshua followed God’s unusual plan around Jericho’s walls, and obedience brought victory when human logic would have failed. (Joshua 6:15–16)
- Mary humbly said, “Be it unto me according to thy word,” and through her obedience, the Savior entered the world. (Luke 1:38)
Obedience is not bondage; it’s blessing in motion.
Training for the Mission
The military trains soldiers for the realities of war — not for comfort. Every hardship has a purpose: endurance, teamwork, trust, readiness.
Spiritually, God’s training works the same way. Every trial, delay, and disappointment strengthens spiritual muscles we didn’t know we had.
Paul wrote, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)
We don’t drift into maturity; we train for it — through prayer, surrender, humility, and trust. Even Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)
Think of Joseph — betrayed, forgotten, and imprisoned, yet every test trained him for the role God was preparing. When the time came, obedience opened the door to purpose. (Genesis 41:38–41)
Or Daniel, who refused to compromise even when obedience meant a lion’s den. His faithfulness under pressure became the very stage for God’s deliverance. (Daniel 6:16–23)
The very moments we think disqualify us often become the ones that prepare us.
The Beauty of Weakness
Here’s where God’s army is utterly different from the world’s: He doesn’t reject the weak — He refines them.
The military turns away those who can’t meet the standard. But God invites the broken, then builds them up to meet His.
Moses stuttered, and God still called him to speak to Pharaoh. Gideon hid in fear, and God called him a “mighty man of valour.” Paul had a “thorn in the flesh,” yet heard God say, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
David’s repentance after failure showed that weakness surrendered to God becomes a testimony of grace. (Psalm 51:10–13) And Peter, though he denied Jesus, was later restored and used mightily to preach the Gospel — because grace can rebuild what guilt once destroyed. (John 21:15–17; Acts 2:14–41)
Our weaknesses don’t disqualify us; they display His strength. God doesn’t glorify Himself through our performance, but through our dependence.
He trains us to rely on His Spirit, not our stamina — and that’s what makes the Christian soldier unstoppable.
The Danger of Excuses
Still, there’s a difference between weakness and unwillingness. Weakness is something God can fill; unwillingness is something He lovingly challenges until we see the need to yield.
Adam blamed Eve. Saul blamed the people. Moses blamed his tongue.
But God’s call always exposes our excuses. Why? Because excuses focus on what we can’t do, while faith focuses on what God can.
“The grace of God… teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.” (Titus 2:11–12)
Grace doesn’t excuse us from the standard — it equips us to meet it. That’s why Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
When Peter stepped out of the boat, he wavered — but he stepped. His obedience, even imperfect, drew him closer to Jesus and deepened his faith. (Matthew 14:28–31)
And Jonah, who ran from God’s call, learned that delayed obedience is still disobedience — yet even from the belly of a fish, repentance restored his purpose, and revival swept through Nineveh. (Jonah 2:1–10; 3:1–10)
Fit for the Kingdom
When Jesus said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) He wasn’t being harsh — He was being honest.
Discipleship costs something. You can’t fight a war half-committed, and you can’t follow Christ half-hearted.
But look closely: “fit” doesn’t mean worthy. It means ready. God makes us fit — by stripping away what weakens us, teaching us to endure, and filling us with His Spirit.
The military relies on discipline and human strength. The Kingdom of God relies on divine power and surrendered hearts. And our Commander, our Lord, knows how to equip His people to stand, to serve, and to shine for His glory.
Grace in the Trenches
God’s army is not made of the strong — it’s made of the surrendered.
Every warrior of faith started small, fearful, or flawed. But through surrender, God forged them into instruments of His glory.
We don’t qualify ourselves; God qualifies the willing. He takes the stutterer and gives him speech. He takes the coward and gives him courage. He takes the broken and makes them bold.
So yes, the standard is high — but the Helper is holy. And He lives within us to make the impossible possible.
🌿 Fresh Eyes Insight
When Trey Gowdy said, “You don’t change the military — you change yourself to meet its standards,” it reminded me of this simple truth:
We don’t change God’s Word — we let God’s Word change us.
But we don’t do it alone. The One who calls us also equips us. The One who commands also empowers.
We fight, not in our strength, but in His: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
No excuses. No shortcuts. Just surrender — and the beautiful confidence that even our weaknesses can become His greatest weapons of grace.
🌿 Reflection
- Where in my walk with God have I been asking Him to make the Christian life more comfortable instead of asking Him to make me stronger?
- Have I been excusing something God is calling me to change?
- Am I training daily in prayer, faith, and obedience — or coasting spiritually?
- What weakness have I been hiding that God might want to use to show His strength?
- How can I encourage someone else who’s in the “training phase” of their faith right now?
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.” — Psalm 28:7 (KJV)
🌿 Fresh Eyes writings © 2025 c_Christ
This Christian enjoyed this article very much. Use of the scriptures is very well done. Looking forward to more writings from you.