Your Mission in God's Army: Q & A with Colonel David Giammona and Troy Anderson
Your Mission in God's Army: Q & A with Colonel David Giammona and Troy Anderson
By Prophecy Investigators
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Dear Prophecy Investigators Community,
In today’s newsletter, we’ve prepared a Q & A with Prophecy Investigators’ News Founder Troy Anderson and Col. David Giammona regarding their exciting new book, Your Mission in God’s Army: Discovering and Completing Your Faith-Filled Assignment Before Christ’s Return (Chosen Books/Baker Publishing Group, April 16). Read a free excerpt from the book here.
We encourage you to share graphics at the end of this newsletter on social media to help spread the word about Your Mission in God’s Army to help encourage people to discover their assignment in God’s Army and help fulfill the Great Commission, Jesus Christ’s last instruction to His disciples to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to all the world.
Your Mission in God’s Army is the follow-up to their two #1 bestsellers, The Military Guide to Armageddon and The Military Guide to Disarming Deception. Here is the Q & A:
There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the world. How does Your Mission in God’s Army help us overcome fear and see what God sees and expects of His followers?
Col. David Giammona: When we focus on God’s expectations, we are secure in the fact that He will lead and provide for us in a chaotic world. Most fears come from an unknown future; our future is known, according to Scripture and God’s revelation to us. Our confidence is in Him, not in politicians, world leaders, technology, or education. His Word is unchanging.
Troy Anderson: As a journalist for three decades, I have watched the signs that Jesus said would point to the end of the age intersect with current events. Whether it is fears over nuclear war, climate change, artificial intelligence, globalization, or other urgent matters, humanity is anxious, waiting for the next catastrophic event to happen. That is why we wrote Your Mission in God’s Army. Discovering your God-given assignment in life, regardless of what the future holds, can help you know that God is in control, and we are hidden “in the secret place of the Most High” and “under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), as we carry out His purpose for our lives.
Although politics are at the forefront of the news, and will likely intensify as the year progresses to the election, how do we go beyond politics and address core issues?
Col. David Giammona: History proves that politics come and go with the culture and news of the day. Politics and politicians are notoriously unreliable, the Word of the Lord stands forever. While we all want a solid leader at the helm of our country, an individual or individuals have no power to change hearts or help you and I overcome adversity. We go beyond politics to core issues by addressing what is important to God. And what is important to God is our relationship to Him, our worldview, and our relationship to each other.
Troy Anderson: In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Presidential Election, people are wondering what 2024 holds as the election approaches. Our first book, The Military Guide to Armageddon, was released a day before the United States Capitol attack took place. Now, Your Mission in God’s Army is coming out after the Great North American Eclipse on April 8. Luke 21:25-26 speaks of “signs in the sun, moon and stars” in the end times, noting “nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” This total solar eclipse coming shortly before the presidential election will garner significant media coverage. Only time will tell what will happen, but regardless of what transpires, the most important thing is to draw near to the Lord, discern His unique Kingdom deployment for you, and find your place in His mission for your life.
How do we keep focused in a chaotic world?
Col. David Giammona: Turn off all the negative media and open the Word of
God, apply it to your life, and trust in God.
Troy Anderson: As the Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Stay in regular contact with the Holy Spirit, praying throughout the day, asking the Lord to intervene in various matters, to deploy angels, and give wisdom and discernment in various situations—like the Apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing.”
As a Christian, how can we positively impact culture instead of culture impacting us?
Col. David Giammona: We don’t want to allow the culture to influence us, but we influence the culture, which is easy to do nowadays since the culture is so dark and destructive. As followers of Christ, we bring the light to a lost world by showing others the hope you have in Christ so that they too can experience his peace and his presence. Conversation openers, volunteering to help others, and listening to where God is leading are some of the ways we can shift a culture that wants to be self- sufficient instead of God as our sufficient hope.
Troy Anderson: Many people are now positively impacting culture through social media. Nearly five billion people, or 60 percent of the global population, use social media. With this vast audience, anyone can post or share an inspirational article, a graphic with a Bible verse, or a video featuring the gospel. At a time when only three in ten unchurched Americans say a Christian has ever shared with them one-on-one how a person becomes a Christian, we as believers have an incredible opportunity to share “the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
You wrote in Your Mission in God’s Army:
“Prayer is the key to our assignment from God. The assignment is not automatic, meaning we do nothing, and God does everything. No, we are in partnership with the Almighty. And many times, we find that God places the answers to our prayers within us, once we decide to put feet to our faith.”
p. 77, Your Mission in God’s Army
What is the key to any assignment from God?
Col. David Giammona: The key to our assignment is hearing from God through prayer, reading His Word, seeking divine counsel from leaders we see lining up with the Word of God, and looking for the answers in our everyday lives that God imparts on your heart. Waiting for Him to confirm before jumping in is a big key that many people in our anxious world skip or miss.
Troy Anderson: Beyond discerning your mission, the key to any assignment from God is obedience, doing what God has called you to do. 2 John 1:6 says, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
What is the key to my assignment as my spouse is deployed?
Col. David Giammona: The key here is maintaining the house and the children in as normal a fashion as possible, keeping in communication with your deployed spouse as often as possible, and praying with your kids every day. It is also staying faithful to what you are focused on so that your spouse can focus on what he or she needs to focus on while deployed. Most battles and victories are lost when we lose focus.
What is the key to my assignment as our family as we move to a new area?
Col. David Giammona: The key here is to start making friends with the neighbors as soon as possible, find a great church where you will have a support system, reach out to the community through various community activities and groups, and volunteer to help support your community whenever you can. When you focus on how you can add value to someone else’s life, rather than how they can add value to yours, you will be in an assignment God has for us as his ambassadors.
Troy Anderson: A major move to a new area is an exciting and stressful experience. To help ensure a successful relocation, the key is to pray for the Lord’s favor, protection and provision. Beyond this, it is important to find a Bible- believing church and a small group where your family can not only study the Bible, but make friends with people who pray for you and your family.
What is the key to my assignment when I feel like my assignment is not important?
Col. David Giammona: To understand that there are no unimportant assignments from God. Each assignment is given to us to bring out the best in us, to depend on Him in all things, and to search His Word to see how you fit into your current assignment. There is a reason for the season you are in and you get to discern what God has uniquely set apart for you rather than someone else.
Troy Anderson: Throughout our lives, especially when we are young, we find ourselves in assignments that seem unimportant. Yet, we know that Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” Rather than seeing your current position as an insignificant assignment, take a step back and consider what your future may hold. What incredible things has the Lord planned for your life, and how might your current assignment help you learn valuable lessons, build your character, and prepare you for your mission in God’s army?
“It is important for us to avoid the trap of dividing our lives between “sacred” and “secular.” In fact, in Christ there is no sacred versus secular: He owns it all. There is no difference between the so-called “sacred” vocations of chaplain or missionary and the so-called “secular” vocations of selling life insurance or becoming a doctor. All of them are sacred vocations and assignments if God has led you into them.”
p. 49, Your Mission in God’s Army
What is the sacred and secular trap? How and why should we avoid it?
Col. David Giammona: Some believers feel that their work is not from God. However, 1 Corinthians 10:31 teaches us “that whatever we do, we do all for the glory of God.” We avoid the trap by understanding we are all placed on earth for a divine reason. All that we are and all that we do is given to us by God. It points to Him, not us in the world. That makes it easy for us to call it sacred when it is from him and for him.
Troy Anderson: From the age of 7 to 20, I worked at my dad’s fish cannery, sweeping the floors, stapling cardboard boxes, picking shrimp, and working on a fishing boat. It was monotonous and hard work, with seemingly little spiritual benefit. Yet, it was during those years that God instilled in me what is known as the “Protestant work ethic.” What I learned as a youth about the value of hard work has served me well throughout my life in my assignments as a writer. Zechariah 4:10 tells us not to “despise the day of small things.”
How does the enemy use unbelief?
Col. David Giammona: The enemy has several weapons that he uses against us to thwart our growth and relationship to God. One of them is unbelief. If the enemy can get you to doubt God’s Word as he did to Eve in the Garden of Eden, then he has beaten you. Remember what he said to Eve: “Did God really say?” He uses that weapon in many ways to get your eyes off God and onto your problems rather than your divine assignments.
Troy Anderson: Although I have been a believer since age 11, there was a time when many things I was taught challenged what I learned from reading the Bible and going to church. In my late twenties, I decided to start reading books on apologetics, examining the evidence for Christianity. After reading many books, as well as Scripture, I concluded that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. It is the truth. The devil is a master of deception and the “father of lies” (John 8:44). His primary tool in leading us astray, derailing our God-given destiny in life, is deception. The Apostle Paul instructed us to use the “weapons of our warfare” that are not “carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Does a dream mean the event will happen immediately? What if it seems as though it is never going to come to fruition?
Col. David Giammona: The Bible has many stories of dreams given to people. It is a fact that in many cases, dreams take many years to be fulfilled, as in the life of Joseph. Joseph had a dream that he would be a great leader; in fact, it did come to pass, but not until many years later and through many trials and tribulations.
Troy Anderson: Throughout the Bible, God uses dreams to indicate what someone should do, explain current events, or reveal what is going to happen. Job 33:14-18 says, “For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.” Of course, not all dreams are from God, as we all have active imaginations, so we must discern whether the dream is from the Holy Spirit. Does it align with the Word of God? Through prayer, reading the Bible, speaking with wise mentors, the Holy Spirit will often confirm whether the dream is from God or not.
What if we receive an assignment we didn’t ask for?
Col. David Giammona: That has happened many times to me, so I speak from experience. The best thing to do in each case is look to God, who is the author and finisher of our faith, to seek Him for answers you have on a new assignment.
Troy Anderson: One assignment given to me was an opportunity to begin writing books on biblical prophecy. As a journalist at the Los Angeles Daily News at the time, I was concerned it could be a career-ending move. So, like Jonah fled God’s assignment and was swallowed by a whale and spit up on the shores of Nineveh to deliver God’s message, I too sought to avoid God’s calling. But I came to my senses and dedicated my life to carrying out God’s mission for me. It has not been easy, we have experienced many trials, but there have also been many miracles and instance of divine intervention, so I would encourage you to accept God’s assignment for your life. As the Prophet Samuel said in 1 Samuel 15:22, “to obey is better than sacrifice.”
Impact, Ignite, Ablaze, & Shine Brightly
Join us in spreading the message! Below, you'll find social media graphics for our new release books, "Your Mission in God's Army" and "Revelation 911." We urge everyone who receives this message to take action. Download the graphics, share them on your social media platforms, and extend the invitation to your family, friends, and church community. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and together, we can reach the masses with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Stand with us as we bring His message to the ends of the earth.
