Daily
Devotional

While in a war zone ten thousand miles away from home, I saw many of my fellow soldiers living in sin with no fear of God, even though there was pain and death all around us. Any one of us could have been killed at any time.

At one point during my tour of duty, I noticed that one of the soldiers was having a very hard time. He was lonely for his family and was not getting good news from home, so he was becoming emotional. My heart went out to him, for I could tell he did not know the comfort God could bring.

I tried to encourage him, and let him know that there is a God who loves and cares for us. I told him how God had helped me, and that if he would pray, God could be a close Friend to him also. His response was short and to the point. He had no interest in my God or what I had to say. I gave him a New Testament and encouraged him to read the Gospel of John, but he just walked away. Though I had experienced this sort of response before, it still made me sad.

About thirty years later, as I was working in our backyard, I was called to the phone. A man I had served with in the military called to tell me his story.

Years before, this man had been in a hotel room ready to end his life. He put a pistol to his head and was ready to pull the trigger. Drugs and a broken heart had ended all hope; he thought suicide was the only way out of his despair. Suddenly, a memory came into his mind of a soldier who had told him about a God who could restore hope and joy to his life. He quickly put the pistol down and opened the yellow pages to look for the nearest pastor he could contact to pray with him. He was saved that night—not only from killing himself, but also from his sins and from a lost eternity.  

This young man later became a minister of the Gospel, and for many years he testified about a soldier whose testimony saved him from destruction. One day, someone suggested that he search for this soldier. That was when I received his phone call. Oh, what a joyful day that was for me!

Today, if you think your testimony has not accomplished as much as you would like, do not be discouraged. Our efforts to be a light for Jesus may not always seem to achieve success now, but eternity may have many surprises in store for us! One of the greatest joys in Heaven will be to meet the different ones whom we in some way helped win for the Lord or encouraged to remain faithful. We likely will never know until eternity the sheaves we will be able to lay at the Master’s feet.