I thank God for all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the US armed forces. They make many sacrifices, and I believe God has often used their service and sacrifices . . .
For a Good Cause
A day may come when our Lord temporarily allows evil forces and governments to dominate the entire planet leaving no relatively safe haven for righteousness and truth until Christ returns. But that day has not yet come. Over the last 75 years, God has three times used the US military to play a key role in restraining evil forces. These three cases have the following in common:
1. Evil forces took over some parts of the world.
2. These evil forces were extremely cruel and brought immense suffering wherever they gained power.
3. The evil governments were responsible for the widespread persecution of Christians, and in at least two out of three cases, of Jews.
4. These evil forces were seriously intent on literally taking over the world and they made massive efforts, with some success, in that direction. They brought warfare, death, and destruction to many parts of the world.
5. God was pleased to use the US military and our allies to stop them in the first two cases, and to restrain them in a still ongoing war in the third.
The First Evil: Fascism
The first of these three evils was fascism in Japan and Nazi Germany.
After fascist governments took over all of Europe except for courageous England, and also conquered parts of Africa, and much of the Pacific, the US military and our allies sacrificed many lives to defeat this evil.
Only as Europe was liberated did we really understand just how dark these evil forces were . . .
The Second Evil: Communism
The next great threat was communism, which began to grow in power even as WWII was drawing to a close. Communist nations consistently used violence and persecution to oppose all belief in God.
Beginning in Russian and China, communism grabbed Eastern Europe and was using warfare and violent revolutions to make gains in Asia and Central America. With the Cold War came the threat of nuclear warfare. But while much of the war was “cold”, in places like Korea and Vietnam, it turned into traditional, bloody warfare.
Once again, God graciously used the US military to defeat and restrain this threat (although it still exists on a smaller scale, the threat from Russia is again growing, and the danger of communism could return).
The Third Evil: Islamic Extremism
The US Military has been ever vigilant and has had little rest. For even as Communism was waning, a new global threat was growing. Lacking the military resources to fight a large scale conventional or nuclear war, Islamic extremists have turned to worldwide terrorism as their primary tactic. They are always seeking weak and unstable nations where they can move in and gain control.
Once again, the men and women of the US Military have been called on to restrain this evil. This battle is still in progress.
Going Broader
While my own service was relatively brief (five years) and my sacrifices small compared to many others, I hope you will bear with me if I share just a couple of personal thoughts related to my own time in the US Navy.
For every brave soldier, sailor, marine, and airman who made the ultimate sacrifice there are many others who made smaller, but still real and meaningful, sacrifices to restrain evil in this world and keep at least parts of it free. They did not lose their lives, but they did give up a portion of their lives.
During my 5 and ½ years in the Navy, I was blessed to serve with some really excellent men on three nuclear submarines:
This was near the end of the Cold War. The men I served with often worked twelve or more hours a day for weeks at a time even while in port and also spent many months away from their families while out to sea. I estimate that out of my first four years of marriage to Hope, a cumulative of about two years I was away from home port, and my experience was typical. While many young men our age were focused on just enjoying life, the men I served with were keeping a secret vigilance to protect our nation, and to some extent our world, from the threats of evil nations and nuclear war. I do not believe our enemies did not hold back from using nuclear weapons because they were nice. By God's grace, they held back because they knew we were there and they feared that we would beat them if they challenged us. The US Navy consistently proved that it dominated the world’s oceans and kept them safe.
So, I thank God for the men who I served with. I would like to mention that I am especially thankful for the senior officers and enlisted men who were patient with young junior officers like I was.
Going Deeper
The external threat to our nation is still real and intense. And yet it is not the greatest threat we face. Moral decay threatens to do what Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Islamic terrorists have failed to do. If we continue on the path of increased sin and sexual immorality which we have been on the last forty years, a day may come when America ceases to be somewhat of a refuge for righteousness and a light for freedom. It is only by God’s grace that we have been used in this role up to now.
While government does have a limited role to play in maintaining morality, the only deep, lasting solution to moral decay is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So as you rightly remember the service and sacrifices of our military this weekend, please also pray for spiritual revival, renewal, and awakening. By revival, I mean a work of the Holy Spirit resulting in a lot of people loving Jesus a lot more. That includes a lot of people getting saved, and a lot of people getting set free from sin, and a lot of people serving more and giving more and growing more for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ.
Remember our men and women who have served our nation, and remember our Lord Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice makes all other sacrifices meaningful. I would like to close with . . .
A Prayer for Veterans Day
Lord, we thank you for the way you have blessed our nation. We acknowledge that all your blessings are due to Your own great grace and certainly not because we deserve them.
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have chosen to use our military to restrain and defeat evil forces in the world. We pray that You will guide our political leaders so that our military will always be used for just and righteous causes and will not be misused.
Lord, we thank You for all who have served and who continue to serve. We ask that You bless them. For those who came back with wounds, physical and/or emotional, we pray that You will heal and encourage them. For those who came back and have struggled to find their place since returning, we pray that You will lead them and help them to know Your love and experience Your good plans for their lives.
We also pray for those who are currently serving. Please watch over them and bring them home safely. When they are fighting in a just cause (which I believe they are), please give them victory in every battle. Please fill many of them with Your Holy Spirit so that many who encounter them will also encounter Your kindness, love, and mercy. Please always use our military to bring blessing and not harm, good and not evil, light and not darkness.
Please be with military families, who make great sacrifices. Help every wife and child whose husband or father is away serving our nation. Provide for them and keep them safe.
Heavenly Father, please bring revival to our nation. Let us continue to be a nation that is worth defending. Forgive us for going in the wrong direction in so many ways. Please don't let us continue to slide down a slope towards decay and moral darkness. We confess that we deserve judgment, but by Your great grace we ask that You give us mercy. Please renew Your churches. Move to bring many to salvation in Christ. Set people free from sin and empower them to serve You.
In Jesus Name, Amen.