God’s Sovereignty: Hope for Military Deployments

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:20 [ESV])

As you prepare for your upcoming military deployment or that of your spouse, you need to put in the forefront of your mind who God is. There is something about times like the ones that lie ahead that will tempt you to forget God. If you do not take your thoughts captive, you will look everywhere else for help and protection. Instead, begin this journey by looking to the Lord.

This article is simply a list of Bible passages that I encourage you to read and meditate on. I personally recommend you journal your thoughts and prayers throughout this deployment. Perhaps you can start a journal of your observations, thoughts, and prayers as you read and respond to these passages.

There are a lot of passages. It will likely take you several sittings. Consider using these passages as your daily Bible reading for the next several days or weeks. Pray that God will use His Word to prepare you for your upcoming deployment by focusing your attention on God.

If you’re married, perhaps read and discuss these together, or do it separately and then discuss what God is teaching you.

Make sure you talk to a mentor about what you’re seeing in these passages and the things that you need to keep in the forefront of your mind throughout this deployment. This will help them serve you well as they will be able to remind you of these things in God’s Word throughout the deployment.

God is Sovereign

God is sovereign. He is not surprised by any aspect of the things that have brought you to this deployment. He will not be surprised by anything that happens during it or after it. He is still on His throne.

What do you notice in these passages? Who is God? How does He work? What is He compared to?

Psalm 33.

Isaiah 40.

Job 38:1-??? Just keep reading for a chapter or two. This is a powerful rebuke from God to Job about God’s sovereignty and the expectation that Job simply trust God even though Job doesn’t really know what’s going on in his present circumstances.

Psalm 23.

God Is Working in You

Matthew 4:1-11. In this passage, Jesus is physically hungry and (humanly) lonely. And yet, He seems to be spiritually strong. Throughout the Gospel accounts, Jesus returns to the wilderness/desert place/quiet place often to commune with the Father. Perhaps God will use this time of separation from the “normal” to bring about spiritual strength in you as well.

Philippians 1:6.

Philippians 2:12-13. *The way Paul is using salvation here it is the ongoing process of salvation- what many of us call sanctification– becoming more and more holy/set apart/like Jesus. In this passage, we see that this process is one that we work hard in and that God does in us. It’s like we are partnering with God to grow in our Christlikeness.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12. What is God’s will for your life (verse 3)? What topics does the writer talk about next?

God is Working through You

Family Roles. What are your family roles before God? Are you a husband? Wife? Parent? Child? Church Member? All of these roles continue throughout the deployment. You don’t get to “press pause” on them. Ephesians 5-6 will be helpful to think through these roles.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Then focus specifically on verse 20- You are an Ambassador for Christ. You are where you are as an ambassador for Christ. You are there to speak Christ’s truths into the lives of the people around you. This deployment season will give you more opportunities for this role than you can appreciate right now. Further, the people who are next to you in this season will be more open to Gospel truth than perhaps any other time in their life. Start a list today of people in your sphere of influence who you believe God will have you speak His truths to as His ambassador.

A Final Thought

People have been going off to war for more than 5,000 years. Most of us return from it stronger than we were before. If you use the opportunities before you to engage with the Lord and what He is doing, I believe He will strengthen you in ways that you don’t see right now.

As I look back on my military deployments, I can’t imagine a better training ground to learn what God taught me in those seasons.

This concludes my encouragement for your spiritual preparation for the deployment ahead. I pray that it has been helpful for you.

I love you guys,

Brian O’Day

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