As a rookie patrol officer, my FTO (Field Training Officer) took me aside the first night we were assigned as partners. He said “I understand you are trained in martial arts. There’s more happening on the streets than your physical skills can protect you from. You’ve got to rely on a sixth sense a cop develops after working on the street.” I nodded in ignorance and realized I was about to step into a new and strange world.

That night, my FTO wasn’t putting me in my place. He was preparing me to face the challenges that would begin that night when I picked up our radio mic and broadcast to dispatch, “I-B-20, 10-8” and began our night of patrol. Over the years while working as a street cop, it was that sixth sense that let me know something wasn’t right and saved me time and time again.

The same is true for our life in the Spirit, especially when it comes to spiritual warfare. We can have in-depth theological training, an advanced degree, or years of service, and while each of those has merit, they don’t prepare us for the spiritually unknown – the hidden weapons of hell the enemy pulls on us on the mean streets of spiritual warfare.

I’ve had similar conversations with fellow believers like the one I had with my FTO. This time I was the one bringing a dose of reality. Those conversations were initiated when I realized that someone was relying on earthly achievements or personal confidence to win the day. Not all those conversations were received with appreciation because they destabilized their understanding of spiritual realities. To be told that there’s more going on than our previous training can prepare us for – things that are dark, sinister, and assigned to take us out in a blink of an eye – can shake a person’s self-confidence.

I learned a lot from my FTO. Our conversation that first night was tucked away in my mind. I carried its truth for the nine years I wore a badge. On more than one occasion as my sixth sense developed, it would repeatedly save my life and the life of my partner. My martial arts training wasn’t tossed out the window. My FTO was thankful for my previous training a few times when things got violent. While I appreciated my martial arts training as a cop, I would rather have a well-developed sixth sense. The same is true in matters of the Spirit. It’s called discernment.