Monday, April 6, 2020

day no. 15,141: recognizing patterns helps us see the picture through the pieces

"Pattern recognition is a key skill for success on the battlefield." -- MCDP 1-3: Tactics

The ability to run something out is a go to discipleship technique. Asking someone to run out what they're saying or doing, to force them to walk down the entirety of the road they're walking on and complete the pattern shows them where this moment's decision ends. It reinforces why right now matters. It also forces one to contemplate how things fit together and to discern that things begin slipping by inches and end up sliding for miles downstream. 

Everything is going somewhere, and eventually it's going to get there.

The ability to complete the pattern is also beneficial in figuring out what the enemy is up to. You can see the data points and see where they point. Where is this headed? What is the most likely next move? Just like we are making calculations in keeping with our intended ends, so are our enemies and we should not be ignorant of their schemes if we're not wanting to become casualties or captives of their strategies.

2 Corinthians 2:10-11
Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

All of this requires constant discipline and focus, but it helps us see what is happening before it happens to us. Recognizing patterns helps us see the picture of the puzzle before all the pieces are laid down and if we don't like what we see on the front of the box, the time to interfere is now.

Hebrews 5:12-14
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

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