“FAITH UNDER FIRE”

In my life I have suffered many set -backs and failures; to
the point of wanting to give up and at times, even wanting
to die. I wanted to throw in the towel many days and just
quit; at times it has been very hard maintaining my faith.
I remember when I was drafted into the U.S. Army during
the Viet Nam war; I recall all the extensive training and
preparation I went through for combat. At the age of eighteen
war was nothing I could have imagined having to go
through but I survived. After eighteen years of service,
another war broke out in the Persian Gulf called “Desert
Storm”. So many people today want things to be easy
in life; no trouble, no pain, no heart aches, but life isn’t
designed like that. Anyone can hope but to have hope it
must be directed toward something or someone.
Everyday someone uses the term “you’ve got to have
faith”. Mostly what they are saying is that if you hold on
long enough things might work out. Life can throw so
many challenges at you it’s hard to have faith when it
doesn’t look like its working out for you. Well, believing is
one thing but what happens when what you believe in is
tested? I believed in the military training they gave me but
when the time of testing came, using what I had learned
was another matter. What I had learned in training was
now being tested by bullets, bombs and scud missiles, all
falling around me. One might call it courage under fire but
fear will manifest itself real quickly to challenge what you
believe…including your courage.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, when my father became
ill and was diagnosed with cancer I prayed and quoted
scriptures of healing over my father and laid hands on
him. But instead of getting better, he grew worse until his
passing. My faith was under fire again a couple of years
later when my mother became ill; it was now her time to
battle cancer.
Her battle was similar to my father’s, a battle to overcome
sickness. Did I have faith? Did I believe they would
get better? Yes I did and my faith was tested during these
trying times. I asked the question; God, why? How could
you allow this to happen to my parents? My answer came
through His word, “yet you do not know what will happen
tomorrow, for what is your life? It is but a vapor that appears
for a little while and then vanishes away”. (James
4:14)
I then realized they both belonged to God and were
only here for a little while. They were only on loan to me.
My faith was under fire and I could have gotten very angry
with God; but what would that have solved? I now
understand that I will see them again, eventually, when
it’s my time to go home to be with the Lord.
When my daughter was quite young, she became pregnant
and the fear of disappointing her parents became
too much for her. The fear of our reaction to the news
weighed heavy on her. So she decided to end her life by
taking an overdose.
My daughter almost died and the doctor’s initial evaluation
stated that she would probably be on a dialysis machine
for the rest of her life. Her kidneys would probably
be damaged and fail her. I went before God and reminded
Him of His word. “Children are the inheritance of the
Lord”, an offspring a reward from him. Like the arrows in
the hands of a warrior are children born of one’s youth.
(Psalms 127:3)
…to be continued next Sunday issue
Terry Melancon is a freelance writer and lay pastor at The
Fellowship Church in Texas City. He is also very involved in
prison ministry and mentor to our own Doc Amey.