I want to pause before I begin today’s message to salute the service and commitment of our servicemembers as
we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend.
Warriors apprehend at some point in their lives they are unable to abide under their physical strength alone,
but to endure it requires something far greater. Having been to war and suffered the hardships of life God has kept me through the promise of his word. In his eyes I have found grace. I am both careful and mindful of the words that I use in this instance, and purposefully did not use the word “favor”, as that would imply that I’ve done something more worthy than those that have lost this
life's battle, those who having sacrificed everything, and are no longer with us. What I have found to be true, over, and again, as I have had the pleasure of working and conversing with so many incredible people. Great and small, men and women of Valor, of great prominence, talented far beyond the reach of the stars of heaven, and yet they are no longer present with us.
If the opportunity presents itself to have the fortune to speak with someone and listen to the stories of those
that fought in the gas filled trenches in France, during World War I; or those whose exploits were recognized for their gallant efforts on the shores of Normandy in Europe, or the sands of Iwo Jima in the Pacific during World War
II; those of the forgotten war in Korea, that spoke of the unforgiving winters in the Chosun reservoir in which many were not failed by the enemies bullet, but rathe the unforgiving nature of the climate and sub-zero temperatures; or the audacious 17, 18, and 19 year-olds who fought unfailingly in ”Hue City”, and bravely during the sudden onslaught of the “Tet Offensive”, in Vietnam.
To speak with someone of that stature presents a unique set of circumstances, as it forces us to come face to
face with our own mortality, realizing that in a moment one's life could suddenly end. However, I give this assurance having been to the severe and austere environments of Iraq and Afghanistan, even in the desert, “roses bloom.” Reminding us of the hope that God grants each of us.
In the desert, in the midst of nothingness, when soldiers grew weary from exhaustion, missing loved ones, and
oftentimes wondering, having lost close friends and comrades if they were next, God was there as I witnessed firsthand something of such vivid beauty that words, not matter what language, cannot even begin to express, as young men and women lined up to give their lives to Christ, to be baptized in a place so far from home, thousands of miles away. Yes, when a soldier is weary, when a warrior is wounded, God’s presence is manifested in a place we least expect. Some would suppose like the words spoke in scripture, “Can anything good come
from Nazareth?” (John 1:46). The answer is a resounding, “yes.”
Today’s episode is titled.
Wounded Warrior
Psalm 32:7
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
