A Warrior's Advent

In Isaiah 9:5 it says, "Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire." This month, like every month, we at the base where I serve as a chaplain are sending people to war on the other side of the world. As troops come to see me (they are procedurally obligated to) we speak briefly about the stresses of deployment and the holidays. Ones I've recently spoken to get to stay home for Christmas. Many others, of course, do not. There's very little in all of this that regular, nonmilitary people can empathize with or even imagine. Most of the people I work with now, though they certainly face danger, are not headed over to live in the line of fire. With no fatalities, it's a far cry from my last assignment at Dover AFB. There I saw daily the fruit of war. I saw these boots and clothes of the slain the Scriptures say will be burned. So, for me, this Scripture verse couldn't be more filled with light and hope, though for the average person it seems sober at best. Most of the people I know who serve in the military serve for peace. They know someone has to stand up to defend our way of life in a world so fallen that without defense we would not be able to live at all, never mind live the way our consciences dictate. So even though Jesus didn't promise peace and warned that He would cause great division in this world, His advent was about true peace, inside and out, and the end of all war. Wars end when they're fought through to the end. His Advent was His first step to the cross, where He fought and won the greatest of all wars against the source of all wars: sin.

A Primer to Pray for Warriors

"Lord, I pray for those who will soon deploy and their families. I ask you to watch over them and all who are in harm's way. They do what they do so I can read this blog without fear. I know that simply reading these words in some parts of this world would be to risk my life or at least my freedom. Bless those who defend me on earth by defending them on earth and in the heavens. Thank You that one day soon all wars will cease and all the things of wars will be destroyed according to the promise of Scripture."

Are you involved in anything that you would describe as a war? How do you expect it to end? How are God and His Word guiding through your conflict?