Back in my twenties, I always looked ahead to my forties, thinking I would have gained all the wisdom and insight about life by then.  How wrong I was! The more I age, the more I realize there is more to life and faith, and even a bigger space for me to grow into. My father-in-law often says that we are all in the school of the Holy Spirit, and I think to myself – we have no idea which course we are in, the objectives, or the length of it. God surprised me often with the realization that my experience from 20 years ago benefits me in ministering to my loved ones today. I had no idea back then that I was learning or gaining revelation through that experience. I assumed it was just a hard time.

 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

 

Derek is our firstborn son. I can still close my eyes and remember vividly how he started crawling, which was over 20 years ago. He would throw a toy and then crawl to it and catch up to it. Then throw and crawl again. His belly would drag on the floor; we called it “a soldier’s crawl”. How joyful those days were – witnessing a miracle of new life that God had created, with healthy development to grow into our new role in life – becoming parents.

 

Derek left home almost four years ago and drafted into an elite combat unit. At the time Derek left our home, we enrolled our two younger children in a local Christian private school. We had tried to stay in our wonderful cherry-picked public school, which welcomed us more than a decade ago, upon our immigration to the US. The school district had been our new home, new community, and a path to the American dream. But the world was changing. We did everything, from meeting individual teachers and district administrators, speaking at the board of education meetings, and contacting elected representatives, to unpacking all of what came at our children—which included Critical Race Theory, Social Emotional Learning, Anti-American and Anti-God history lessons, Affirmative actions, Pornographic material in classes and libraries, and whatnot. Who would have imagined that in the US we would find ourselves in a battle for our freedom of faith, parental rights, and excellent education?

 

But God is so good. Our new Christian school was there to protect our younger children’s innocence, teaching them the beauty of God’s creation and the wisdom of His Word.

 

Fast forward to more recently, Derek was deployed on a combat mission in the Middle East last year. His training before deployment was extremely difficult, and I was deeply impressed by how my eldest son, once a child who simply wanted to be cradled in my arms, had managed to withstand such demanding exercises and tough situations.  They really pushed the limits to ensure that he and his fellow trainees were ready.

 

That morning, as I knew he and his fellow soldiers were getting on a bus to the deployment, I thought to myself: “I must pray persistently for Derek now.”

 

That moment, the Holy Spirit told me: “That’s good, but you are to pray for your two younger ones in a same way because spiritually they are in the same danger as Derek is in.”

 

Then it hit me. God wanted me to realize that my Derek was as physically safe as my other two younger ones who are here in the US in a private Christian school. He, our God, protects my Derek. What an assurance! I felt relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  I had peace in my heart. I found a refuge for all my children at that moment.

 

We are to rely on His promise and trust in His protection with the same confidence whether our children are in a combat zone in the Middle East or in the safety of school in the US. We are to be diligent in praying over our children, no matter what the circumstances look like.

 

In this case, the objective of this godly life course in the School of the Holy Spirit was to push me to the limits and learn a lesson. I learned to let go; God has this. And I learned to view through God’s perspective and pray accordingly.

 

Our personal civic engagement might start in areas that are most dear to our hearts, and the battles may look hopeless from time to time. We may feel no necessity in involving ourselves in “big” and “unfamiliar” matters – after all, each of us is a simple and “powerless” citizen.

 

Today, looking back to my lesson from the Holy Spirit’s instruction to pray over my younger children, I became more convinced in Grace Church’s message — “Watch and Pray!” We have free access to the Creator of the universe. Jesus gave us authority to bind and loosen on the earth, and the same will happen in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

 

Thank you to all the parents who raised our military and law enforcement members. May God protect your children and give you peace. I urge my fellow church brothers and sisters, let’s pray for our younger generations who are growing up in a spiritual battlefield as if they are in a physical combat zone. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to grant power, love, and a sound mind. Let us open together the spiritual arsenal, so our children will be equipped with abundant spiritual armor.

 

May God send us more workers. The harvest is near. Amen.