NOVEMBER 12, 2012
At
Risk For The Savior
Read: Philippians
2:25-30
Hold such men in esteem; because for the work of
Christ he came close
to death. —Philippians 2:29-30
During
basic training, Desmond Doss irritated his drill instructor and
fellow soldiers.
A pacifist by conviction, he refused to carry a weapon
into battle, and this
made his peers doubt his courage. Trained as a
medic, the young Christian had
no qualms about facing combat. But
his goal was to save lives.
Doubts
about Doss would change, however, when his military unit
faced combat. During
the World War II Battle of Okinawa, he ducked
under machine gun fire to pull
the wounded to safety. He prayed, “Lord,
give me the strength to save just one
more wounded soldier.” Eventually
he lowered more than 70 injured men down a
hill for further medical
attention. For his efforts, Desmond Doss was awarded
the Medal of
Honor—the highest honor his country could bestow.
scripture
tells of another Christian who took great personal risks to
help others. Of
Epaphroditus, Paul wrote, “Hold such men in esteem;
because for the work of
Christ he came close to death, not regarding
his life” (Phil. 2:29-30).
Around
the world today, many believers risk their lives for the cause
of Christ. Let’s
pray that our God will protect them as they serve Him
under threatening
circumstances.
O Lord, listen to our cry for mercy; in Your faithfulness
come to the relief of those who are in danger because of
their faith. For Your name’s sake, preserve their lives;
in Your righteousness, bring them out of trouble.
Courage is not having strength to go on—it is going on when
you
don’t have the strength.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012
