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Shell Shock
Fighting soldiers don’t have to imagine the tragedy of shell shock. In the thick of the battle, they watch comrades die in plain sight, wondering if the next bullet flying through the air will pass them, hitting the next person or if it will cause their own death. Battle exhaustion, a horror of war, as well as shell explosions, induces trauma in the bravest man on the field. Fatigue, slow reaction time, indecision and anxiety are only a few symptoms of this condition. Other problems that occur are hysteria, paralysis, blindness, deafness, nightmares and insomnia. We can sympathize with the brave men who willingly go to war knowing the likelihood of returning is less than one hundred percent. When they return with scars of war, whether emotional or physical, our hats go off to them. They deserve our praise because of their sacrifices.
Likewise, Christians are in a battle against Satan, even though Jesus Christ already won the victory when he died on Calvary’s cross. Therefore, God commands us to endure hardness as a good soldier, even to martyrdom if Christ allows that. In the past, and in other countries today, many Christians face death simply because they trust Jesus as their only way of salvation. Shell shock can occur in the strongest Christian, as well as the bravest soldier in the heaviest combat.
The devils bullets fly into our minds, often blinding us to the truth of God’s promises that He will be with us always. We are deaf to His words of comfort when He whispers, “Fear not. Be not dismayed.”
Sometimes we get hysterical and cry to God, “Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve such trouble?” We forget that we signed up for His army when we trusted Him as our Saviour. We forget that we are fighting a battle that affects all eternity, not only for ourselves, but also for those whose lives we touch. If a dying man on the battlefield needs a drink of water his buddy searches, in spite of shellfire, to meet that need. All around us lives are bound for hell and we forget that we have the sip of water that will save them, or perhaps fear embarrassment in presenting God’s truth to them.
Satan’s arsenal is full. He knows how to trip us and knock us down. He longs to stomp all over us, make our lives miserable and kill us if that were possible. The soldier on the battlefield decides whether he will fight to the death, run away or surrender to the enemy.
As Christians we can choose to fight to the death if necessary, for Jesus’ sake, or attempt to camouflage ourselves to look like something we are not. However, we remain soldiers in His army and once we enlist there is no way out of the battle. Satan tries to destroy us and our only weapon is to know the promises of God’s Word. Satan is defeated by the power and the blood of Jesus on our lives. We must resist him, reminding him of his final destiny and tell him that according to the Bible his punishment will happen soon. We must take it a step further and draw close to God by praising Him and remembering His promises to care for us.
Shell shock must not be a controlling factor in our lives. The Captain of our salvation is ever ready to defend us, direct us and deliver us from the enemy’s attacks, giving us peace that comes through knowing Him. He deserves our praises because of His great sacrifice on the cross and His triumphant victory in His resurrection from the grave.
Revelation 20:10 KJV And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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