Providence

Recently I was reading through some of my journal entries and I ran across the following entry on 8 January 2010. I decided to post this because I think it is a nice reminder to those of us who believe in God's providence.

I was reminded today about the pressures of combat from reading only a portion of an article from Dr RC Sproul (http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/my-good/ ). The article did not talk about combat, but rather the toll that a horrific Amtrak accident took on he and his wife. The article goes on to articulate Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose ". The reason this made me think of my time in combat is that I experienced the same type of thing while being bombarded by rockets and mortars on a small base in central Iraq. When these attacks began to happen I naturally had a strong feeling of anxiety. I would lie awake at night thinking about the prospect of being hit by one of those screaming pieces of steel. One of these nights was different however. As I was lying awake with my head spinning a thought entered my head. If God wanted to take me out of the world at this moment, there is nothing I can do about it. This had an extremely calming effect on me. I had learned in that moment what I already knew to be true, but this time I understood how to live the principle. God has control of all things. If I lie awake at night with anxiety about what is to come, then I waste my precious time and energy. I rested well that night and the rest of the nights in Iraq. Don't get me wrong, I still had fear of being killed in that forsaken sand box, but it no longer ruled my thoughts or made my heart pound. It freed me up to function. It reminded me of the words of old Sergeant Major Barret…If I want you I'll get you. As R.C. put it "The promise of God that all things work together for good to those who love God is something that has to get not only into our minds, but it has to get into our bloodstreams, so that it is a rock-solid principle by which life can be lived." That night it entered my bloodstream.