Deployed

My son deployed today for the second time…this time to a country in Asia where he will board a BGB (a big gray boat which is driven by the Navy. Don’t use this acronym with men.) The Marines are everywhere. That’s why you sleep so well.

Odd,his concern in Iraq didn’t seem to focus on IED’s or crazed militants who hated his guts and were trying their best to kill him. It was on the flight over the ocean. Once they close those doors and lock them, you’re committed for better or worse. You have surrendered control to the guys in the cockpit and they are at the mercy of their equipment working well and Bubba knowing what he was doing when he overhauled the plane before it took off, hurtling you 600 MPH through the air at 30,000 feet.

He’s flying across the ocean to catch the boat. No corn fields for emergency landings…just miles and miles of ocean.

So what do you say to your kid? “God’s going to take care of you…nothing’s going to happen?” I don’t know that.

Oswald Chambers said, “God does not tell you what He is going to do…He reveals to you who He is.”

I didn’t realize it but that’s what I needed to know when he went to Iraq…who He is. So early on I read a little verse and through it He said, “I am right there with him in Iraq…right there.” Now, I knew that because my son knows Him and He lives within him. But I hadn’t really put two and two together so God did it for me.

It’s kind of like taking your firstborn to kindergarten the first day. Both of you are nervous, he because you’re leaving and you because you don’t know if he’ll have a fit and have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the room but when you get to the classroom, you realize a good friend is his teacher! Oh my gosh…you hand her his hand, give him a kiss and walk away with a smile on your face. She knows your kid, he knows her and they already have a great relationship!

Kindergarten or Iraq….same thing. It was a realization of Who was with my kid. He is my son’s heavenly Father and He is right there with him. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t need to know if he was getting enough to eat, was getting fired on or would get back alive, impaired or wouldn’t come back at all. I just needed to know He was right there. Amazing what that did for me, the mom.

We need to know who He is. He is God Almighty, King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Creator of the universe. Strong, big…huge. He is sovereign God over all. He is in control. You can take a deep breath and relax because when the Lord is your shepherd, you have all you need. (Psm 23:1 NLT)

When I climb on a plane, I don’t need to know how it works, I just need to know the man driving it knows how it works and knows how to fly it….well. No one hands me a sworn, notarized statement when I board the plane stating that fact….I take “their” word for it, unverbalized, unwritten. That’s pretty amazing faith come to think of it.

God wrote down His sworn statement all over the Word and bottom line, the pilot’s not in control, God is.

We need to identify our fear specifically, real or imagined…and some fears are healthy. Fear of being run over causes you to look both ways before crossing the street. But fear of the unknown that you have no control over can paralyze.

The truth is “God is not a God of timidity and fear but of power, love and self discipline.” ( 2 Timothy 1:7) He has promised to supply all my needs according to His riches in glory which are beyond all that we can either ask or think. He has said that He is my Shepherd so I have all I need...and that He will equip me with all I need for life….and for godliness. That’s the truth.

The lie is….no He doesn’t, no He won’t, He may not, what if He doesn’t and He might not. And Satan, the father of lies, wins if you believe the lie…and what he produces is paralyzing fear.

What to do.

Know truth. Or find someone who knows truth. Write it down. Feel it or not, God said it….so no matter what, it is true.

Identify the lie and then rebuke the lie…rebuke Satan. If you’re a child of God, greater is He that is within you than He that is in the world…Satan. So tell him you’ve been bought and paid for by the blood of Christ and he is to leave you and take all his friends with him, in the name of Jesus. He has no power over you….leave.

Then take every thought captive and let your mind dwell on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute (Phil 4:8) and then sing! Sing….A Mighty Fortress is Our God or your favorite praise song but sing, sing, sing. God inhabits the praise of His people so let ‘er rip.

If whatever you’re dealing with is a deeply ingrained habit, Satan will not give up. He has baited your hook with exactly what he knows you will fall for so repeat the action over and over and over. Jesus stated truth when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness so state truth, identify the lie, rebuke Satan, take every thought captive and dwell on the good stuff. God will move in, fill your heart with peace and when you share what happened, God will get the glory.

The plane made it safely over the Pacific Ocean.

Sleep well tonight…God and the Marines are still on watch!