Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
As Veteran’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking on the ones that have said, “Here am I. Send me.”
The first warrior I thought of was Uriah the Hittite. He has always stood out to me because of his heart. These scriptures speak of him:
And these constitute the list of the mighty men whom David had: Uriah the Hittite… (1 Chronicles 11:11a and 11:41a)
These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all. (2 Samuel 23:8am 39)
Uriah was one of the top thirty-seven warriors in King David’s army. His name means Yahweh is my light. I love this man’s heart. In 2 Samuel 11 we can see the kind of man Uriah was. I’m going to paraphrase it for brevity.
It was spring time when kings go out to battle, David stayed home, but sent out Joab and his army. David went out on his roof and looked down to see a woman bathing. He wanted her, inquired about her and found out she was the wife of Uriah, one of his warriors. He slept with her and she became pregnant. David panicked so he concocted a scheme. He sent a message to Joab telling him to send Uriah to him.
David inquired about Joab and the battle then told Uriah to go home. Uriah slept outside and did not go to be with his wife, so David requested his presence and asked why he didn’t go to his house. Uriah said he wouldn’t because the other warriors were sleeping and camping in the open fields. He said:
“Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing.” (2 Samuel 11:11b)
David’s plot crashed so he got Uriah drunk and yet he still wouldn’t go home, so he sent a letter to Joab, by Uriah’s own hand, to put Uriah in the red zone of the battle so he would be killed. Joab sent a messenger to David with news of the battle. See, he had put Uriah and other warriors right up near the wall of the city knowing they would die. The messenger lied and said they were in the field but pressed the enemy back to the wall and the archers shot at them, and, by the way, Uriah the Hittite is dead.
Uriah not only had the heart of a lion. He was an honorable and brave man and he chose to do the hard things over what he could have done.
I have the pleasure of knowing and serving with some amazing veterans. My husband, Ron, served in both the Army and Air Force. He was in EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal, defusing bombs) for part of that time. My friend, Al, served in Vietnam and was a firefighter, I have a friend that was a Seal and went on some hairy missions, an Army Airborne Ranger friend that received the Purple Heart twice while serving in Iraq, my neighbor and friend Matt was Army Airborne, one of my youngest son’s friends Dad was in the Khobar Tower in Saudi Arabia when it was bombed in 1996 where 18 died and 498 were wounded. Master Chief (Larry) at the Base Exchange lost part of his leg in battle and to this day is pulling shrapnel out of the stump (his word for it). I know a man who was in the Marines and led the first surge into Iraq from Kuwait, another was a Force Recon Marine and, not only did eight deployments to Afghanistan, but founded The Mighty Oaks Program to help military, veterans and first responders suffering from post traumatic stress, and spearheaded a rescue mission to Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul to rescue trapped Americans and Interpreters for US Forces that were on the Taliban kill list. This was after he got out of the Marine Corp. (He made a documentary on it that is on Amazon Prime. It’s called “Send Me.”) My friend Colleen served in Vietnam and did two tours in Afghanistan as a medic/EMT/flight nurse. My friend Timothy was an Army lieutenant and was wounded in Iraq. He still carries shrapnel in his leg.
There are many more and I honor all of you. Whether you have been in a war zone or not, being military can be hard. You have to leave your families for periods of time, go to foreign countries that aren’t so safe, work seven days a week at times, 12+ hours, train, wear chemical warfare gear and carry heavy packs, etc. And still we go.
When you leave the military, you still carry a sense of responsibility to uphold the constitution of the United States. It’s in you to do it after you signed the blank check to offer yourself. You also bring the courage, bravery, honor and scars, some inside as well as out. Military individuals are a part of the rescuers, protectors and providers of our amazing country.
From my heart, Thank you for your courage, your bravery, your willingness to sign that check, and for doing the hard things. You are lion hearted warriors and I am proud of you.
Our Father says that you’re brave and He is proud of you. He sees your sacrifice and He loves you one and all.
If you are suffering from post traumatic stress there are two places you can get help that are phenomenal and faith based. mightoaksprograms.org and operationrestoredwarrior.org