Watch the Devotion

Based on Luke 17:5,6,10

By the time you read this devotion, a war fighter will have redeployed back to the United States. For six months she faithfully served in her AFSC, receiving commendations and the respect of her squadron. When she was switched from night shift to day shift, both groups of coworkers said, “Something is different about her.” She is the kind of gal who brings joy, faithfully serves the needs of others, and finds ways to work with those who are difficult to work with. During her deployment she was also a faithful spouse and mother.

That’s difficult, isn’t it? How do you faithfully serve in the vocations of wife and mother when you’re halfway around the world, ten time zones away?

This is life in our nation’s military. You struggle to be faithful servants in each of the vocations to which God has called you: a married war fighter; a war fighter with kiddos; a single war fighter; your vocation as a member of a church, as a citizen, as a good neighbor, as a friend—it can be overwhelming at times, especially when you’re halfway around the world.

In Luke chapter 17 Jesus spoke to his disciples about their vocations and how to carry them out. After listening to Jesus, they were so overwhelmed that they cried out to him, “Increase our faith!” (verse 5). Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you” (verse 6).

Your ability to carry out your vocation does not depend on your strength, your management of time, your talents, or even your love for other people. Your ability to effectively carry out your orders to serve others depends on your faith. Notice that Jesus doesn’t point to the strength of your faith. He points to its object. Faith’s object—the thing that it clings to, holds on to, rests upon—is Christ. Faith rests in his forgiveness when we fail miserably in our vocations. Faith finds its strength in Christ’s righteousness for us when we are weak or lazy in our vocations. Faith trusts that Christ will do what he promises when we look to him for faith to move mountains. The mountains in this case are to carry out our duty in whatever vocation God has called us to serve others.

Finally, Jesus says, “When you have done everything you were told to do, [you] should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” (verse 10). We humbly serve him who in perfect humility served us. With all the strength he provides, let us carry out his orders to serve in faith and duty.

Prayer:

Almighty God, in your bountiful goodness, keep us safe from every evil of body and soul. Make us ready, with cheerful hearts, to do whatever pleases you. As veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom pause to remember the beginning of that campaign on October 6, 2001, we know that this war changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of war fighters and their families. For those who bear on their bodies the scars of combat, and for those who carry in their minds and souls the traumas of war, we call upon your compassion and mercy to provide healing, patience, and forgiveness. Our faith trusts you to do this, for this is the kind of God you are for us. Amen.

Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Note: Scripture reading footnotes are clickable only in the web version.