Before my husband was deployed to Viet Nam, our pastor at the time, Charlie Chilton, in Triangle, Virginia, preached a message, the title of which I will never forget: “Psalm 91: For Men Going to War.”
After my husband had been there for a while, I sent him a reminder of this passage. It has always had special meaning for us, because God truly did protect my husband during a time when literal arrows (insert “mortars”) were flying by day (and/or by night).
This promise was very real: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
When my husband returned, he shared some stories that made me realize how important it was for him to feel protected by God, and how thankful I was for that protection. I wrote some of his memories in my Life Story. Here is an excerpt from his recounting of some of the time during the Thet Offensive:
"We stayed in the ditches each night for the next two to three weeks. During that time, rockets and mortars were coming in. We hit the dirt and got as low as we could. You couldn't realize how flat to the ground you could get until you heard the mortars. You would try to hide behind a gravel or a piece of dirt or anything. You could get your body pretty low to the ground. You could hear the mortar thud and the 122mm rocket whistle as it propelled through the air, but you didn't know whether it was going to land on you, or behind you, or in front of you, until you heard the explosion. At no time, though, do I remember really thinking that I was going to die. I just did what I had been trained to do.”
Psalm 91 (KJV)
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Thank You, Lord.
1 comment:
My hero and my Dad. Wow.
Post a Comment