Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle; He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in Whom I take refuge, Who subdues peoples under me. (Verses 1-2)
Sergeant Alvin York served in the United States Army in World War 1. A conscientious objector when he was drafted into the military, York was opposed to killing anyone. He'd become a Christian in his mid-twenties and believed God didn't want him to shoot the enemy. York's commander gave the young soldier leave to go home to the hills of Tennessee to think and pray. There, Alvin spent several days praying and fasting about his decision to go to war. Because he'd grown up poor, foraging and hunting for food, Alvin honed his skills as a marksman. His aim was exceptional, even among his peers. He knew how to crouch and wait, how to run after the fox or deer. He'd been trained for war and didn't know it. On the last day of his fast, a brief gust of wind blew his Bible open to
Mark 12:17: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." Alvin York took this as a direct word from God that it was right for him to fight for America. Though he didn't know what that would entail, York's decision, he said, was to trust God to show him the rest.
York's unit is shipped to Europe to fight in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On October 8, 1918, the troops are ordered to run toward a nest of machine gun fire that felled most of the soldiers. When York's sergeant is ordered to take a group of men and try to attack the nest of German gunners from behind, they receive such a hit that York discovers he's the only unwounded non-com left. In a miraculous run on the machine gun nest, York winds his way through carnage and gunfire to reach the entrenched gunners, and with the accuracy he learned in the hills of Tennessee, kills them all. Behind the nest is a regiment of German soldiers standing in the trenches with their backs to him, shooting at Americans. Because they are unaware of York, he begins shooting them one at a time, like picking off a line of ducks in the air, rear to front, so that they don't notice the man behind has been shot until it's too late. Within a few minutes, the entire German regiment throws down their guns and lifts their arms in surrender. York had taken 32 machine guns, killed 28 Germans and ultimately captured 132 German soldiers. One man pulled the whole thing down.
When asked later if York did this because he so hated the Germans, his answer was surprising to his commanders. "No. I did it to protect the men who were being slaughtered. I couldn't let that happen to my comrades." Of this battle, York, who became a Medal of Honor winner and garnered over fifty military decorations for his valor, said, "A higher power than man guided and watched over me and told me what to do."
I know many men who were Christians died that day. There is no guarantee that because we are know Jesus we won't be killed in physical battle. But God's particular choice to use Alvin York to save the lives of others who might have died is significant. Trained up in the woods of Tennessee to do just what he did in battle, Alvin's encounter with Christ and subsequent love of God and the Bible trained him also for the broader war. A destiny unimagined while the boy was hunting for food in the hills of home. And the reason the one who didn't want to kill anyone was able to was because he knew he was saving the lives of others in doing so.
God is also training us for war--the broader one. And part of that warfare is accomplished on a battle field close to home--on our knees. Today there are Americans still fighting for our safety and our freedom. Giving their lives so we might keep ours. May we fight with them as we cry out to the One Who trains our hands for war and calls us to our knees: "If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." May we pray for peace. May we humbly ask forgiveness. May we trust the same God Sergeant Alvin York did to show us what our place is in the process of freedom and then do it.
Sergeant Alvin York served in the United States Army in World War 1. A conscientious objector when he was drafted into the military, York was opposed to killing anyone. He'd become a Christian in his mid-twenties and believed God didn't want him to shoot the enemy. York's commander gave the young soldier leave to go home to the hills of Tennessee to think and pray. There, Alvin spent several days praying and fasting about his decision to go to war. Because he'd grown up poor, foraging and hunting for food, Alvin honed his skills as a marksman. His aim was exceptional, even among his peers. He knew how to crouch and wait, how to run after the fox or deer. He'd been trained for war and didn't know it. On the last day of his fast, a brief gust of wind blew his Bible open to
Mark 12:17: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." Alvin York took this as a direct word from God that it was right for him to fight for America. Though he didn't know what that would entail, York's decision, he said, was to trust God to show him the rest.
York's unit is shipped to Europe to fight in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On October 8, 1918, the troops are ordered to run toward a nest of machine gun fire that felled most of the soldiers. When York's sergeant is ordered to take a group of men and try to attack the nest of German gunners from behind, they receive such a hit that York discovers he's the only unwounded non-com left. In a miraculous run on the machine gun nest, York winds his way through carnage and gunfire to reach the entrenched gunners, and with the accuracy he learned in the hills of Tennessee, kills them all. Behind the nest is a regiment of German soldiers standing in the trenches with their backs to him, shooting at Americans. Because they are unaware of York, he begins shooting them one at a time, like picking off a line of ducks in the air, rear to front, so that they don't notice the man behind has been shot until it's too late. Within a few minutes, the entire German regiment throws down their guns and lifts their arms in surrender. York had taken 32 machine guns, killed 28 Germans and ultimately captured 132 German soldiers. One man pulled the whole thing down.
When asked later if York did this because he so hated the Germans, his answer was surprising to his commanders. "No. I did it to protect the men who were being slaughtered. I couldn't let that happen to my comrades." Of this battle, York, who became a Medal of Honor winner and garnered over fifty military decorations for his valor, said, "A higher power than man guided and watched over me and told me what to do."
I know many men who were Christians died that day. There is no guarantee that because we are know Jesus we won't be killed in physical battle. But God's particular choice to use Alvin York to save the lives of others who might have died is significant. Trained up in the woods of Tennessee to do just what he did in battle, Alvin's encounter with Christ and subsequent love of God and the Bible trained him also for the broader war. A destiny unimagined while the boy was hunting for food in the hills of home. And the reason the one who didn't want to kill anyone was able to was because he knew he was saving the lives of others in doing so.
God is also training us for war--the broader one. And part of that warfare is accomplished on a battle field close to home--on our knees. Today there are Americans still fighting for our safety and our freedom. Giving their lives so we might keep ours. May we fight with them as we cry out to the One Who trains our hands for war and calls us to our knees: "If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." May we pray for peace. May we humbly ask forgiveness. May we trust the same God Sergeant Alvin York did to show us what our place is in the process of freedom and then do it.
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