Call on God

by Tami Rudkin
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 12:07 PM MST

The Vietnam War raged around the tiny village. Neighbors had viciously turned enemies, and foreigners fought a war they hardly understood.

All that the villagers knew was that the devastation would one day visit their homes, their families.

One evening, a young Viet Cong soldier sneaked into the defenseless village and warned the mayor that his battalion of soldiers was planning an attack and capture the following evening.

The Christian mayor decided that they couldn’t escape, but that they would call on Christ to be their defender. So the whole village began to pray and sing.

As dusk encroached upon them, so did the Viet Cong battalion. Shadowy figures armed with guns and masked in hatred surrounded the village.

Soon, the inevitable happened. Loud shots were fired, and the report echoed in the stillness.

However, soon after the first shots rang out, an astounding silence followed. No war cries, no shots, no wickedness. A peculiar, but welcome, silence blanketed the small faithful community.

Later, some of the attacking soldiers were captured. They were asked, “Why did you halt your attack on our village?” The Viet Cong prisoners excitedly replied, “As we opened fire, all of a sudden there appeared all around the village, men clad in shining white. We fired at them, but they would not fall … we were terrified and ran.” (“The Mighty Hand of God” by Katherine Carter Pollard)

Are you amazed? Are you incredulous? My first response was astonishment. I shook my head and said, “Amazing!”

Immediately, however, many stories of God’s intervention and protection flooded my mind. I have heard these kinds of stories all of my life. You know, stories of people finding themselves facing incredible odds, calling out to God, and God miraculously coming to their defense.

Last week, I was battling in my own spirit over some personal issues. I seemed to be losing the skirmish and was feeling pretty hopeless about the whole situation.

In the midst of my own crisis, I was leading a small group of believers in a time of prayer. As we began praying, a couple of tangible steps to my healing came to mind.

I wrote them down in a small red journal I am keeping. In silence, I sat listening for God’s quiet voice. These thoughts came to mind, “Call on me! Don’t try to do it yourself. Call on me to protect you and to send my angels to surround you. I am your defender.”

I quickly wrote those words down. The very next thoughts were, “Call on me. When you’re tired and weary and you can’t go on, call on me.” I paused for a minute and immediately came, “Depend on me. Call on me. Throw yourself on me. Praise me.”

And, finally as a parent willing that his child not forget an important point, God whispered again, “Call on me.”

Ours is a spiritual war. The enemy of our souls crouches in the darkness waiting for our most vulnerable moments. He looks for the weakness in our resolve, for the instant we are unguarded.

Satan waits until we are tired from the timeless battle between right and wrong and then he pounces like a ravenous lion wishing to devour his prey.

We are under attack, but God is our defender. We must call on him. When the enemy intends to destroy, call on him.

When temptation promises power, call on him. When the seductive voice of selfish pleasure whispers, call on him.

When you know the enemy has taken his place, has loaded his gun with the ammunition of death and has targeted you for the capture, call on God.

(Larry and Linda Kloster sponsor this column.)

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