THE KINGDOM OF GOD'S RELATION TO YOUR COMBAT TRAUMA

I.     The LORD God Reigns Forever

Ps. 29:10 The Lord sat as King at the flood; Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.

Ps. 103:19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

Dan. 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

Zech. 14:9 And the Lord will be King over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Mt. 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jn. 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Rev. 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (emphasis added; See also Ps. 24:10; 45:6; Isa. 32:1; 52:7; Mt. 6:9-10; 10:7; 13:11, 47-50; Mk. 9:1; 10:15; Lk. 1:31-33; 4:43; 8:1; Jn. 18:36-37; Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:30-31; 1 Cor. 6:10; 15:50; Eph. 2:19-20; 2 Thess. 1:5; Rev. 5:10; 20:6; 21:1-4).

A.    Mankind’s Royal Dominion Lost and Regained

Gen. 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and . . . over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”. . . 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea . . .” (See Gen. 2:11-12)

Ex. 19:6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. (See Ex. 28:4-6; Lev. 8:9; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 2:9) 

1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, (See also Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; 22:5)

B.    The Bible Connects God's Kingdom Directly to “Somewhere in the DMZ”

In an earlier chapter, “Somewhere in the DMZ . . .”, I described one terrible event out of so many Echo Company endured. That was a very bad, no good, rotten day. So, where was God? What was He doing? Did He care? I’ve heard survivors of a tragedy say, “That was the day God died to me.” Looking back at my tour of combat through the lens of these cables , I now have a better vantage point to evaluate those events through the doctrines espoused here. 

Survival. That’s all one does in combat. I wasn’t even scratched by the enemy that day, but I wasn't so fortunate with those thorned vines. Looking back, I have come to a more accurate understanding of why I survived that day, but from the sphere of the unseen. God sat as King over every man in Echo Company and what the enemy attempted to do. I had to grapple with that, and you do as well. Think about your worse, very bad, no good, rotten day/s. Do you believe anyone was "up there" controlling events "down here"? The Bible says God, the King, was. I don't need to qualify this. He alone reigns.

God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel saying, “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the Father and the soul of the son is mine” (18:4). And through Moses, the LORD proclaims, “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand” (Dt. 32:39; see also 1 Sam. 2:6-8; Job 12:10, 14; Isa. 45:7) 

The Lord oversaw where each mortar round landed, where each piece of steel broke apart, flew outboard at thousands of feet per second, and over whose internal organs the blasts would rupture. He directed those searing pieces of jagged steel to their intended targets. God guided them away from me as it pleased Him, even though I had taken His name in vain more times than I could ever count. 

My behavior, words, and thoughts to that moment declared that I was God’s enemy (Rom. 8:7). I had repressed the knowledge of His rule all my life and was without excuse (Rom. 1:18). But the eternal Father and Son had covenanted together to send the Christ to die for my sin. God had given His Son a people out of the world, and those people would receive and keep His Word (Jn. 17:6). The Lord protected me from death in time, space, and history because of what the Godhead had covenanted to do for me. Psalm 68:20 tells us the truth about Vietnam: God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belongs to escapes from death. 

God carefully gave attention to each step I took, directing my paths for His Name’s sake (Ps. 23:3). He scrutinized every thought that occupied my mind, what I ate, sleep or the lack of sleep, exhaustion level, the men who became my buddies, and those who became adversarial. God moved me from the first platoon’s mortar squad to the second platoon, protecting me on hill 861a, 861, and 558. Jesus interceded for me at the Father’s right hand, guiding me to repent and believe in Him alone in 1972. The Spirit convinced me of my sin and misery. He enlightened my mind in the knowledge of Christ, renewed my will, persuaded and enabled me to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to me in the Gospel. The Holy Spirit applied the redemption Christ purchased for me. He worked faith in me and united me to Christ by His effectual calling.

No battle or firefight that erupted around me escaped His notice. When my rifle refused to fire due to a speck of dirt or rust on an ambush, God kept the Viet Cong at bay. He didn’t allow that dark VC silhouette to take careful aim at me so that his rifle rounds missed me early in my tour. God placed His hand over me as we dug our fighting positions when a red-hot, jagged piece of shrapnel missed my heart by inches. Many times, God protected me from my willful stupidity in high school. There are too many events to count. 

I can visualize God sitting as King over every second of my war and life. He delighted in me because He chose me in eternity past and His Son would deliver me from darkness into His marvelous light (Col. 1:13-14). God adores me, but only because He united me with His Son. God loves Jesus beyond all finding out; thus, He loves me also. I can now say I was never in any danger in Vietnam. Ever. The Kingdom of God spread its coverings over me, directing all artillery and mortar rounds to their prescribed ends. I deserved the worst possible outcome, but He spared me. 

Think about this: 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him (Jesus), and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2).