Please allow me to say that I found your discussion thread to be both relevant
and important. Your reasons for wanting to work with veteran populations is
compelling. I happen to be a combat vetaran myself, having served a couple of
tours of duty in the Middle East. Thank you in advance for your interrest in
wanting to help my fellow veterans. I was sorry, (but unfortunately not surprised),
to read how your 30-year-old God son, a US Army combat veteran, has witnessed
no less than three of his fellow soldiers complete suicide, right in front of him. It
seems that witnessing one person complete suicide would be enough for many if
not most people to develop some degree post-traumatic stress disorder; however,
to witness three people attempt and complete suicide is beyond tragic. I pray that
he finds peace in God. Of course, the account of how your own cousin has
attempted to hurt or kill himself several times, is even more heart wrenching. I
have been praying that God will calm his torment as well. a
a a a a As you know June, as mental health clinicians the last to last thing we want is
for our clients to try kill themselves. It seems to me that if someone is sad
enough to try to take their own life then they must have either lost faith in God
and his son Jesus to change their reality and bring them to salvation, or, they
never had faith in God to begin with. The truth is, Jesus has the power to drive
out any thoughts of sucidal ideation. In Mark 3:28 Jesus says, "When I drive out
demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you."
a a a a In The Book of Luke, we read about the Roman Centurion in the town of
Capernaum who begged Jesus to come to his home to heal his servant who is
terribly sick and dying. a Centurion's as we know, were Roman soldiers who were in
charge of 100 men; veterans of antiquity if you will. In Luke 8, the Centurion's
faith is apparent when he says to Jesus, "Lord I am not ready to receive you, but
only say the word and my servant shall be healed." Most importantly, while a lack
of faith in Jesus and his father leads to despair and death, faith in Christ redeems
God's creation from the fall.
References
Evangelical heritage version (EHV). SCA Northwestern Publishing House. (2019).
Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://online.nph.net/ehv
Wolters, A. M. (2005). Creation regained: Biblical basics for a reformational
worldview. William B. Eerdmans Pub.
