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Stories about how God is changing lives and transforming nations through their militaries are encouraging, but some of God's best work is seen in the things that didn't happen because of faithful military Christian leaders. (Note the data correction in bold below)
ACCTS' Executive Director recently spoke with several Latin American military Christian leaders about the impact of their faith during a political crisis in their country. After weeks of unrest, angry mobs had swarmed the nation's main airport - some in support of the government, and others who wanted to dismantle it. The nation was on the brink of civil war, the world's media covered the story constantly, and political leaders from major nations began to voice their concerns about the deteriorating situation.
Several of the nation's high-ranking military leaders, however, were strong Christians and members of the military Christian fellowship. As their country began descending into chaos, they gathered to seek God's guidance about the situation. They prayed for God to help them know what decisions to make, how to respond, and what actions to avoid. As the demonstrators threatened to become violent, military forces were deployed to maintain calm. Although a few shots were fired, the Christian military leaders were able to limit the violence and bring their country back from the brink of destruction. Civil war was avoided, the crowd  s dispersed, and peace was restored. What would have happened without the voices of military Christians in this volatile situation? We don't know, but the bloodshed could have been horrific, and the future of the nation changed for the worse.
Since 2000, there have been an estimated 30 coups - or coup attempts - around the world. In every case, military personnel were involved - either for good, by keeping the peace and maintaining law and order; or for bad, by overthrowing elected government and slaughtering innocent civilians. The armed forces of our world, which now number nearly thirty million (almost 70 million including reserves), are an extremely powerful force in determining their nations' futures.
Every day, thousands of military Christians wrestle with the challenge of serving as salt and light for Christ to their country. So, the next time you hear reports of turmoil in some far-flung country, pray for the Christians in their armed forces, that they would act with wisdom, commitment, strength, and restraint, and that God would use them to accomplish His purposes in the crisis.
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