One of the most challenging firefights I ever found myself in was a crossfire in Somalia on an earlier mission before the events of Black Hawk Down.
I was leading the vehicle convoy to a blocking position just south of the target building. The vehicles came under fire from an enemy position directly across the street to our right. As we started to return fire and engage the enemy, we started to get attacked from the left side of the vehicle.
At this point, my men were in an impossible situation. If I focused all our attention and firepower to the right, we would get shot from behind. If I focused all of my attention to the left, then I would be vulnerable from the opposite direction.
You don’t have to be in combat to get caught in the middle of a crossfire.
Sometimes it’s that you’re in the middle of a challenging family situation. Other times, a crossfire comes when you’re in the middle of an impossible situation at work or at school. Continue reading if you want the one piece of advice you should follow the next time you’re caught between a rock and a hard place.
When it’s not your fault
Adam French was caught in a crossfire. He grew up in a family where his father was very successful in business, but was a raging alcoholic at home. He also had a loving mother who became addicted to painkillers because of an accident outside. This put Adam right in the middle of a devastating crossfire between his parents.
And here’s the kicker: Adam did absolutely nothing wrong to lead to his father’s alcoholism or his mother’s drug addiction. He just happened to be the kid caught in the middle of this challenging situation.
Maybe you find yourself in similar circumstances right now. Maybe you’re in a work environment where your boss is mad at someone on your team and therefore takes out his or her frustration on everyone in the team, including you. You did nothing wrong, but you’re experiencing the pain of being caught in the crossfire.
Nowhere to turn next
Needless to say… it’s no fun being caught in the middle of a crossfire! I still remember my frustration with being caught in the middle of this firefight from both directions. The only solution as a leader was to split my men and half and have them engage the bad guys on both the right and the left sides of the vehicles.
Adam had nowhere to run either. Both his mother and father were unstable in his home life. It’s unsettling to find yourself caught between a rock and a hard place.
Maybe you’re in a situation where you don’t have an easy way out of the crossfire you’re in right now. If you’re struggling with a challenging situation with no real good solution in sight, let me give you one piece of advice… turn your problems over in faith to God. Allow him to give you a solution or give you the strength to get through these tough circumstances.
Look upward for the solution
The most challenging part about being in a crossfire is, if you turn to the left, you’re vulnerable on the right. If you turn to the right, you’re vulnerable to the left. It feels like you have nowhere to turn. However, if you think about it, you still have one direction left to turn… turn upward!
Looking upward for the strength to face your challenges doesn’t mean that you run away from your problems, hide in a corner, or act like they don’t exist. Rather, looking upward means that you have very significant problems in front of you, but you are finding the strength to face those challenges through your faith in a God who is bigger than your problems.
It’s humbling to admit that you are in over your head and there are no easy ways out of a situation. However, this humble state makes you willing to look to Jesus for guidance to take the next steps in your problems.
Some of our worst situations are self-inflicted. We made big mistakes, and they’re catching back up with us. However, there are some times in life when you did absolutely nothing wrong, and you were just caught in the middle of a crossfire. Look upward for strength and a solution to your dilemma if that’s where you find yourself right now.
Listen to the whole interview with Adam HERE.
Read about Jeff’s military career.
Get your copy of his biography
