"Dad, where did you find the courage? Jumping off a landing boat and running headlong into enemy fire – what courage." My brother tried to get his head around the sacrifice of the men who served with our dad in World War II.
Dad bowed his head and swiped his eyes. "It wasn't courage. It was survival. It wasn't my battle. It was my job." Dad's voice quivered. "It wasn't courage."
Our dad joined the army at seventeen. He was trained quickly, made a gunnery sergeant, and sent straight to the front lines in the Pacific theatre. He was fortunate because he did survive, but many of his friends perished on that sandy shore.
There were very few conversations about the battles our father fought. Years after the war, he still suffered the effects – nightmares, cold sweats, fear, and worry, but Dad's one remark burned in my heart, "It wasn't my battle." Is war ever the man on the ground's battle?
King Jehoshaphat was told armies from Edom were coming to attack him. He called the Israelites together, and they sought God in prayer. God heard, and His Spirit came over a Levite named Jahaziel, who spoke to Jehoshaphat. "Do not be afraid . . . this battle is not yours, but God's." And so, the king took his men into battle, but the opposing armies were dead when they arrived. The Lord had turned them against each other. The battle was indeed His. King Jehoshaphat took his fear, his people, and this battle then laid them at the feet of God. God responded in an amazing way.
Most of the battles we face, we choose to fight alone. We think we can fight them without help in our weak state, but the truth is those battles belong to God. He waits for us to surrender them to Him so He can wield His sword of truth and overcome. Prayer is a great warrior. It's a great weapon. When God's people pray, He responds. When we trust the win to Him, God fights those battles for us.
On this Fourth of July, our nation's birthday, remember those who willingly died so that we might have the freedom we enjoy. Take time today to pray. Lift this upside-down nation before God and ask Him to right it again. The prayers come from us, but the battle is His.
(photo courtesy of pixabay.com.)
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Cindy K. Sproles is a best-selling, award-winning author. She is a speaker and a conference teacher who teaches nationwide. Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries, www.christiandevotions.us, and www.inspireafire.com. She serves as a writing mentor with WRAMS (Writing Write Author Mentoring Service) and is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.