Another Move, God? Hope for Military Wives预览

Pick Up Your Spiritual Weapons

Sitting on the edge of the airfield as the sun peeked its head over the horizon, I watched the red fire of the afterburner light up on the jet that held my husband as he headed off to the Middle East for his first deployment. Tears streamed down my face as I realized he was gone, and it would be months before I saw him again. Watching him leave in a military fighter jet made it painfully clear that my husband was headed off to combat and would encounter danger and possibly even death. I was helpless to protect him.

Do you struggle with the fear of letting your man go into harm’s way? While your husband may be off on authentic adventures fighting legitimate battles with the military, you can grab your spiritual weapons and fight for your man. Abraham “called on the name of the Lord” in Genesis 12:8,13:4, and 21:33. This “calling” likely included an audible prayer during which he thanked, praised, worshipped, and petitioned God. Sarah witnessed and might have participated in this sincere prayer. Part of what separated Abraham and Sarah from those around them was their worship of a singular God.

The Jewish Talmud is second to the Hebrew Bible in Jewish religious tradition. The Talmud records several instances of Sarah petitioning the Sovereign Lord and placing her absolute trust in him. The Bible illustrates Sarah’s faith by recording her leaving behind the only life she’d ever known and journeying with her husband to a new and unseen land.

Genesis 14 includes the first account of a war in Scripture. Abraham and his 318 trained defenders headed to war to rescue Lot in brutal and violent fighting.

Abraham and his men were a smaller fighting force than their enemies, the four kings with their armies. Abraham took up physical arms and deployed to combat. Sarah likely grappled with fear as Abraham left for war. But she chose not to let her fear have the last word. Sarah likely went to battle too, but with the spiritual armor of prayer.

Ephesians 6:18 reminds us that prayer is one of the most potent weapons against our enemy.

It’s evident that God heard and answered Sarah’s prayers. God’s muscle was on display since he did the impossible deed of bringing victory to Abraham and his 318 men. Abraham had fought against four kings with great military power, but that was nothing compared to the clout and command of God.

Your husband needs you to be his battle buddy and go to war on your knees with spiritual arms.

We can pick up our most potent defense as our husbands bravely head out to war or are deployed to enemy territory. Fight your husband’s physical, emotional, and spiritual battles using the spiritual weapon of prayer.

Psalm 91 is known as the soldier’s psalm. It portrays God as a roaring lion who serves as our refuge, commander, savior, protector, encourager, and mighty fortress. Just like Abraham and Sarah, call upon the Lord, the roaring lion, to keep your man safe from those who want to cause harm.