By Pastor Colin Wong Dear Prayer Warrior,
Lately, I have been thinking of the Lord's Army, and I realised many of his faithful soldiers are deeply wounded in the battle field, and I am one of them.
There are various reasons why a soldier of the Lord get wounded in the battlefield. He is either careless, not vigilant or watchful, or immature, or not following the Lord's instructions.
A good example was John Mark. He was recruited to join Paul's first missionary journey, but for some unknown reasons, he left the team and returned to Jerusalem Acts 12:25; 13:13). On Paul's second missionary journey, Barnabas wanted him to come along, but Paul insisted not to bring him along. But Barnabas, whose name means "Son of encouragement" took him along and nurtured him to be a profitable servant of the Lord.
Mark, a wounded soldier, was given a second chance and became an useful servant of the Lord (Acts 15:36-41; 2 Timothy 4:10). There are many other examples in the Bible such as David (2 Samuel 11 :1-17); Manasseh {2 Kings 211-18), Elijah {1 Kings 19:1-16); and present day's faithful servants of the Lord who were wounded along the way, but were restored spiritually and made fit for the Lord's divine service.
A wounded soldier of the Lord cannot fight and needs help. He is not to be forsaken in the battlefield lest Satan get him and kill him. The fact is that a wounded soldier of the Lord can recover spiritually and go back to the battlefield and do exploits.
Sadly, many a wounded soldier of the Lord in certain churches does not get the help, support, and encouragement of its people. These "holier than thou" saints join Satan, "the accuser of the brethren" (Revelation 12:10) in condemnation, judgment, criticism, and isolation rather than take part in spiritual restoration. The enemy of the Gospel and even some of God's people, will always look for ways and means to accuse God's wounded soldiers. It is very painful to see God's people joining Satan to condemn, judge, criticise, and isolate God's wounded soldiers instead of reaching out to them with love, care, concern, encouragement, and comfort (A member of a certain church told me that she wishes a certain wounded soldier of the Lord be cursed forever and another resorted to calling him "a fox").
Paul's instruction to the Corinthians is crystal clear. You and I are members of the Body of Christ. Therefore, when suffering comes to one of our own, all of us suffer together. That means one member's pain is the whole church's pain (Romans 12:15). We must do our utmost best to empathize and sympathize with him (Hebrews 4:15), and not take part in condemnation, criticism, judgment, and isolation.
Remember the words of Jesus, ''A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand" (Matthew 12:25). This is what Satan wants. This is his strategy to destroy God's wounded soldiers and cause divisions in the church.
Finally, I must say that shielding a wounded soldier of the Lord does not mean that you are condoning his sin in the battlefield. Not at all. He may be wounded by mistake or carelessness, or moments of weakness. However, if he continues to live in sin, then he is no longer fit for the Master's use (2 Timothy 2:21).
A soldier of the Lord does not cease to become a soldier because he is wounded; he ceases to be one if he deliberately sins against God.
Dear Prayer Warrior, you may know a wounded soldier in the Lord's battlefield, struggling and trying to recover from his wounds to re-enter the fray in Satan's domain. Will you reach out to him? Will you tell him that you love him or care for him, or are praying for him? Who knows that one day you may need it also because you and I are fallible people. Amen.
Wishing You a Blessed and Joyous and Peaceful and Fulfilling 2025!
* This is my last ministry update for 2024. Thank you very much for indicating that you would like to continue to receive it in 2025. However, if you have not done so, please let me know by saying Yes or No. Thanks for your partnership in the Gospel.
Glory to God! Shalom.
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