“The world was not worthy of them…” Hebrews 11:38
Almighty God,
This is the day we honor veterans and rightly we should. There is a generation that is dying away and they carry with them the battle scars and heroic stars of something so few of us will ever know. They have known what it is to look fear in the eye and fight til the bloody end for freedom. I see them now with weathered faces, thinning hair, aged bodies, and tears in their precious eyes as the national anthem plays and the flag they so dearly love is hoisted. I’ve listened to their stories of Iwo Jima, New Guinea, Midway, Berlin, Dachau, Cologne, and many other places. I am overwhelmed at their strength and humbled by their tenderness. There is also a generation that still has a story to tell. Sent to an Asian jungle where so many did not return. They fought just as hard, just as brave, and many still fight a jungle in their mind over that war. Saigon, DaNang, Hanoi… tattooed on the minds of courageous young warriors taken to a country they did not know for a war they did not understand. But they went and did their job and I salute them. Now another generation faces a new enemy. They are sent to the land where time began. Do they know that they fight on the very same soil that Abraham journeyed? So far we’ve come, so far we’ve returned. Father, I thank you for all of these who served. And I am reminded of another group of veterans. The ones who gave their lives for you. The Old Testament Patriarchs, the New Testament Apostles, and a host of others listed in the pages of scripture who lived out their faith with sweat and blood. These were real people who had dreams and aspirations for their lives. However, once they encountered the One True God, they forsook all and followed you. They are my heroes. Thank you for including their stories in your word. I am encouraged and strengthened because I know you are the same God to me that you were to them. All of these lives prove that freedom isn’t free. It cost the blood of saints and ‘bravehearts’ alike. And most of all it cost the best that heaven had to offer – the Lord Jesus Christ. Your blood bought my freedom from sin and from hell. There is no greater victory! Amen and amen!
Love,
Penny
