Hope To Carry On

The 32^nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) was alerted and given 12 months to prepare for this deployment. We had lots of time to consider our lives and even the potential of our deaths. I think many of us prepared ourselves for the reality that soldiers who go to war sometimes die. Combat deaths are expected and anticipated when preparing for this kind of thing.

What caught so many people off guard with the death of one of our soldiers was his joy and zeal for life and living. It was really hard for the guys who knew him to accept the news of his suicide. No one was prepared for that kind of loss. The shock, confusion and anger that soldiers felt were freely expressed among the men as we put out the news.

Why would a squared away soldier, a loving husband, a caring father, or a respected leader take their own life? When I heard the questions the men were asking as to "why" there friend committed suicide my heart ached also.

Thinking about this dilemma brought me back to my days in seminary when I was training for ministry. I remembered one psychology class when I learned that no one really knew; science could not really explain "why" people suffered things like depression and anxiety. There was this big debate among professionals whether it was biological or environmental; was it an issue of the person's nature or their nurturing. Its root and cause still escaped us.

Working in the mental health field during seminary introduced me to the complexities of the issue of depression first hand. I used to deliver people to the hospital for evaluation and admittance into the behavioral health unit. I worked with them when released back into the community. I saw people transformed by the introduction of medication into their lives. I know that some depression and anxiety are greatly helped as the medicine brings a balance back into their lives.

Sometimes part of the answer or treatment is biological. But sometimes, many times the clients I worked with received little or no help from the medications prescribed. It was as if something else was missing in their lives.

I have come to believe that medical science is not the best answer for every case of depression. Sometimes we need to take a step back and reevaluate before passing out care and counsel from one text book or another.

Our soldiers death exposes an old, ancient and crafty enemy named despair. We live in an age when despair seems to be a constant and unwelcomed companion. Everywhere we turn we see signs of this intruder. The papers, television, and internet are full of stories that reflect despair. At times it seems unstoppable. How do we wage war against an enemy we cannot see? What can we say? What can we do to address it?

Even if we should turn to medical science for answers we would have little consolation. Science doesn't know how to deal with it. Drugs can't help it; often times the counsel and concern of friends doesn't ease it. It is a cold dark mystery to many of us.

To combat an ancient foe perhaps we should consider an ancient friend. There is a passage of scripture that relates a story of one man who knew despair. It is found in the Book of Job. Lets listen to Job's cry: "Sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. ²⁵ What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. ²⁶ I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."

Many ancient passages affirm the reality and universality of despair but those same texts also give us the assurance of hope. The antidote for despair.

These ancient texts tell us the story of God and his interaction with mankind. In these pages we read that life was and once again will be good. We read that I am created in his image, that I am destined for glory. He cares for his kids; He has a plan for my life. He will never leave me nor forsake me. All of these beliefs are organized into what we call faith. And that faith brings hope and that hope conquers despair.

For human beings hope is like a luminary round fired over our heads in the darkest of nights. It gives us light by which to fight, to navigate and to carry on. It was this kind of hope that the Psalmist must have had in mind when he wrote, "Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Hebrews 6:19
¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for our souls, and it is firm and secure.

My challenge to you today is to ensure that your anchor will hold when the storm comes. Find out what the writers of scripture knew. Do not leave your future to chance. You have an adversary who goes around as a lion seeking whom he may destroy. Your enemy comes to steal and to kill and destroy.

Get hope…

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (NIV).