It was just about this time of year when our platoon finished the majority of our training and conditioning. We packed up and moved to the rifle range. After weeks of carrying and cleaning that rifle, I was finally going to get a chance to use it! While I had played with BB guns growing up, this was going to be a real adventure, or so I thought. My heart sank when we got to the range and there were no full magazines of 7.62mm ammunition. I quickly learned that the days ahead were for “snapping in” and not firing our rifles. Snapping in is the process of assuming every position you will be using during qualifying and holding your rifle in position and aiming as if you were discharging the weapon. For multiple hours, twice a day we stood, kneeled, and lay on the ground, holding and aiming or holding and gently pulling the trigger. What I thought was a waste of time, proved to be the deciding factor in my ability to hit what I was aiming at!

In the Marine Corps you may achieve an expert, sharpshooter, or a marksman designation if you don’t hit your mark as frequently as the expert or sharpshooter. However, in eternity just getting close to the bull’s eye is not what is going to allow us to halak with God. He makes that clear with His definition of SIN. And, sin is what keeps us from heading in the same direction with God. According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word “chattáah” means “missing the intended mark.” What deprives you of the intimate walk is not just the sin, but the faulty reasoning behind your sin (Isaiah 29:13). Poor reasoning keeps you from focusing on the right goals and target. If you understand why that happens you have a better chance of success.

First of all, remember that we sin because of our imperfect (sinful) nature, the choices we make, and because we are often influenced (1John 2:16) to do so. Additionally, you will be deceived and distracted, by Satan and his angels (John 8:44) as part of your everyday life. We also struggle with eternal perspective because we cannot see the time-space (visible-invisible) continuum the way spiritual beings see it. This limits our perception of Kingdom life and how we fit into the scheme of things. So, the key is through developing a spiritual “snapping in” process.

Snapping in comes during the simplest and most basic things you do every day. Don’t believe that it has to be complicated, toilsome, or stressful. All God wants you to do is prepare and be ready for your walks with Him by taking small steps with a willing heart. If you do that, it will show up in things like prayer before meals, reading your Bible, and spending time with fellow believers and mentors. Those basic things add spiritual insight, so the deception and distraction of the world do not cause you to miss the mark! They add to your knowledge, understanding, and faith. They also strengthen your reasoning ability as God talks to you through other’s words. Only then when your quiet time arrives and the path or beaches are open, your heart will be ready to halak with God. As you walk with Him, he will fill in all the gaps or answer the questions your family and friends could not answer for you (Isaiah 55:9).

Now, don’t just “Go with God,” “Go halak with God!”

Love, Dad