Everyone knows the saying, "there are no atheists in
foxholes". Especially when you're in battle; under fire, about to be
overrun, and feeling the 'end' is near. Impending defeat from a fierce enemy
has a way of speeding up the soul searching that we do to find our purpose, our
reason for living. Often that battlefield searching within ourselves reveals a
need to believe in a power, an order, beyond what we see and know here in this
world. The call goes out to God, save me, or take care of my family. In crisis
mode, when things are as bad as the soldier thinks they can get, faith in God
is natural, easy, and outright compulsory.
In our desperate times, we too turn to God, whether it's
to save us from something we've done to ourselves, or from what danger someone
is about to impose on us. We shout to God when we think He has been unfair to you
or subjected a loved one to an illness. Or when a family member or friend is
taken to heaven. Even as believers, there are times that we do not seek God
until we are frantic enough to admit that we cannot solve the problem on our
own. Issues big and small, crisis that are life-threatening or not, each of us
has a threshold, an ability to cope, that once reached forces us to seek a
source of deliverance beyond ourselves.
Foxholes can hasten your belief in God,
they can even inspire
you to reach out to Him for absolution.
But they can also be a great place to
hide
I see two kinds of Christians in foxholes. The new
Christians, that just realized how much they need God and are accepting God's
grace at light speed because of their immediate need. And the Christian that
has known God's grace and forgiveness over and over. The tired and worn
Christian, that obeys and takes up the arms of the battle only to find that
they can't go on. Exhausted, used up, consumed and eaten alive by the
"religious commandos" of the church Pharisee squad, they hide. They
hunker-down and take cover, just in sight of grace, but not quite under its
full power and forgiveness. Afraid to move, paralyzed by fear, shame, or the
ridicule of others. This is a very scary place. To know that you need to move
towards God, but not have the ability to move. To see the Savior at a distance,
but not believe that He is here to care for you.
Foxholes are also full of dead soldiers. Those that never
found a way out. That didn't believe that they could be saved, or that God
could forgive them. This is the condition that I seek to help you and I avoid.
We all struggle with acceptance, and self-worth at some point. We think that
we've fallen too far or done too many bad things. That we have already chosen
our path, and it's too late to change it. The good news is that God doesn't
give up on us when we fall. His love is unlike anything we experience here in
this world, and his forgiveness stretches farther than you have ever been. Most
of His chosen men fell upon doubt and disbelief when Jesus was crucified. As
with us, they failed. But God had a plan for them, and though some of them hid
in their foxholes waiting for the battle to calm down, grace came to them where
they were. You see, those in the foxholes who die because they are too afraid
or conditioned to believe that they can make it from where they are to where
God is, fail to realize one thing.
Grace meets us where we are
Scars, defeats, sickness, addictions and all, God sends
the might of His generosity and compassion to our hiding place. It pierces the
darkness of our lonely struggle to believe that we aren't alone in our foxhole.
The truth is that He is as near as the air that we breathe. The deeper you dig,
the harder it is to see out of your hole. Don't stop looking for God to answer
your call. Don't ever stop. The good news I want you to know is this; He has
already answered your call. Before you were in trouble. Before you knew that
you needed Him, and before you were born into this world, He loved you and
wanted you to know Him. Hiding in your foxhole or not, He has a purpose for
your life, and He will meet you on your battlefield. You are the front line and
the last line of God's enduring mission to reveal Himself to each of us,
through good times and bad. Seen or unseen, He is within reach; do not lose
faith. Close your eyes and touch the hem of His mercy and forgiveness as He answers
your call, reach out and you will be renewed.
