Anger, frustration, disappointment. These emotions pour out of me as I watch the news about Afghanistan this week. I remember when we pulled out of Iraq and watched ISIS develop in the leadership vacuum. The heartbreak that I feel alongside other veterans was only matched by the fear and devastation that the people living in the country were experiencing.

I know the people of Afghanistan have been betrayed by the American people. The burden of guilt does not lay on those who served faithfully for years in a combat zone only to watch Saigon 2.0 happen. The guilt is on America, on the last several administrations who failed to go the distance. The guilt of the coming rampage in Afghanistan is on the current administration who failed to act, failed to prepare, failed to do anything. But I have no control over that, only what I do with these emotions?

As my heartbreaks where do I turn?

Where do we find hope and comfort?

No simple blog post will cover everything that needs to be said. In many ways tragedy, war, destruction, sickness and pain all ask one of two questions.

Is God good? or is God able? In both of these at the core the real question is “Can I trust God?”

Can I trust God when vicious people seem to succeed?

Can I trust God when there seem to be no good?

Can I trust God when my earthly efforts seem to be worthless?

Can I trust God?

It is not easy to trust God in times of adversity. In times like this week watching what is unfolding in Afghanistan watching what good men worked for and died for over the last 20 years fall to pieces. My heart is heavy and I ask “Why O Lord?”

How do we trust God then?

Perspective.

We must look on this with the eyes of faith not sense. Faith to trust God comes from His Word, applied by the Holy Spirit. Only the God of the Bible shows us that God has a relationship with us and is involved in our painful circumstances. Only in Scripture do we receive grace to trust in God.

Two truths about God.

God is in control (Lamentations 3:37-38)

37 Who is there who speaks and it happens, 

unless the Lord has ordained it? 

38 Do not both adversity and good 

come from the mouth of the Most High? 

God is perfect in love (Psalm 9:9-10)

9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, 

a refuge in times of trouble. 

10 Those who know your name trust in you 

because you have not abandoned 

those who seek you, Lord. 

“God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.”-Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

The ultimate example of God’s love is the atoning death of Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus His only begotten Son as propitiation for our rebellion. This is the God we cry to.

Armed with this perspective we can begin steps to trust in God when it seems overwhelming.

I will be spending time meditating on Psalm 9. My only hope is found in God, the God of justice.

CELEBRATION OF GOD’S JUSTICE

9:title For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David. 

1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart; 

I will declare all your wondrous works. 

2 I will rejoice and boast about you; 

I will sing about your name, Most High. 

3 When my enemies retreat, 

they stumble and perish before you. 

4 For you have upheld my just cause; 

you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge. 

5 You have rebuked the nations: 

You have destroyed the wicked; 

you have erased their name forever and ever. 

6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin; 

you have uprooted the cities, 

and the very memory of them has perished. 

7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; 

he has established his throne for judgment. 

8 And he judges the world with righteousness; 

he executes judgment on the nations with fairness. 

9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, 

a refuge in times of trouble. 

10 Those who know your name trust in you 

because you have not abandoned 

those who seek you, Lord. 

11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; 

proclaim his deeds among the nations. 

12 For the one who seeks an accounting 

for bloodshed remembers them; 

he does not forget the cry of the oppressed. 

13 Be gracious to me, Lord; 

consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me. 

Lift me up from the gates of death, 

14 so that I may declare all your praises. 

I will rejoice in your salvation 

within the gates of Daughter Zion. 

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made; 

their foot is caught in the net they have concealed. 

16 The Lord has made himself known; 

he has executed justice, 

snaring the wicked 

by the work of their hands. 

Higgaion. Selah 

17 The wicked will return to Sheol—

all the nations that forget God. 

18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; 

the hope of the oppressed will not perish forever. 

19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail; 

let the nations be judged in your presence. 

20 Put terror in them, Lord; 

let the nations know they are only humans. 

Selah 

 Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ps 9:title–20.

Prayer

We must turn to God in prayer.

Pray for the people of Afghanistan pray for Christians that are likely to experience and already are experiencing great pain.

Pray for veterans who feel as if 20 years of war was wasted.

Pray the words of this song to God.

How are you trusting to God during this time?

Mighty Oaks invited me on their program to talk about it here in this YouTube video.