Dear Soldier, Do You Remember?

Dear Soldier,

We don’t know if you remember us or not, but we’ve been trying to catch your attention. No, don’t ignore this letter. You aren’t reading this by accident. Yes, you are a soldier, but you may have forgotten this truth. Let us explain.

You were sent out into battle quite some time ago. You expected an enemy of guns and swords, but you were wrong. We were wrong. We were all wrong. At first you were passionate to help others and fight this enemy, but when you didn’t see this enemy and saw your fellow soldiers break rank and put back on civilian clothes, you did the same.

You might not see it now, because the invisible enemy has conditioned you to ignore it. Dear soldier, your neighbor is dying. Yes, I did say dying. Your friends are dying too. You’ve forgotten, but you once understood. Do you remember now?

Let us explain.

You once were dying too until we helped pull you away from the invisible enemy that spoke these rancid lies into your ears. We helped you see the truth, that you are a wonderful and noble creation. That God made you and he loves you.

You didn’t believe us at first. You hated God. You thought he was the problem. But, the longer we fought the enemy off and shared with you the truth the more you understood.

We told you about the Great Invasion thousands of years ago. Do you remember? Yes, this is a real thing, not some made-up story.

Long ago, God’s enemy invaded his perfect creation through man, separating us from God and holding us in bondage. They cut us off from God’s love and life. They threw us into darkness and confusion and then turned us against one another. Wars broke out and millions—no, billions—died.

We believed their lies.

Then came the Great Savior. You might have heard stories about him, but they water it down. It was incredible! All we knew was war, chaos, and darkness, but then he came. It didn’t make sense at first because we never saw anything like it before. But, then came the light.

Many were completely transformed. But, most were skeptical. Nothing that good could possibly be true, right? But it was. We saw it transform person after person. Then we trusted in the Great Savior as did you. Together we broke through the enemy’s lies and saw the truth. We were saved from the darkness.

Then the Great Savior commissioned us as his soldiers and we volunteered to go back into the darkness to rescue our friends from the enemy and their lies.

But we failed.

We fought for a little while, but the enemy deceived us.

They were smarter than we. They knew they couldn’t stop us with the Great Savior’s power flowing through us. So, they didn’t fight back. They put up no resistance. Instead, they bribed us. They bribed us with comfort and pleasure, and we fell for it.

Soon we forgot all about the war.

Slowly, without our noticing, they removed our uniforms. They were uncomfortable after all. The more we enjoyed these comforts the less we wanted to fight. As we were playing games they whispered to us, “set down your gun, there’s no danger here.” So we did.

As we ate, they whispered, “You aren’t going anywhere, why do you need these boots? Do you feel how uncomfortable they are?” So we took them off.

Before we laid down to sleep, they came in whispering “Why do you need a helmet? You’ll never sleep with that. Besides, when was the last time the enemy attacked?”

As we gathered together to laugh at a movie, they joined us and quietly spoke, “Why are you still wearing that uniform? The war is over. Do you see those comfortable cotton clothes? What’s the harm in wearing them?”

The more we enjoyed these comforts the less we wanted to fight. We wanted to take off our uniforms. All they did was remind us of the battle we didn’t want to fight.

And so, dear soldier, we forgot all about the war we were commissioned to fight. We soon forgot that the world was dying around us. And though it occurred to us at times that we should stand up and say or do something, the enemy quietly rushed at us and whispered, “But what if you offend them? What if you don’t know what to say? What if you look like a fool? What will they think of you? Surely another time will come. Surely someone else will tell them. Don’t you see how uncomfortable that would be? Isn’t it good enough that you are safe?”

Dear soldier, we’ve slept for too long. We’ve played long enough. And, too many people have died while we enjoyed our comforts. How many more must die before we rise up?

Please don’t look around at all the other soldiers who put back on civilian clothing. That’s what the enemy wants you to do so they can keep slaughtering our family and friends. Please don’t focus on how awkward it might feel or uncomfortable it might be. That’s the enemy speaking to you right now. Focus on the Great Savior. Remember what he did for you. Remember what he saved you from. Focus. Don’t forget again.

You are so close. Don’t take your eyes off of him. You know what he’s calling you to do. You can feel it right now building in your chest. It’s that passion, that flame that originally emboldened you to follow the truth and step out into the battle. Fight, dear soldier, fight the temptation to turn back to your comfortable life and ignore this call.

Do you remember now? Don’t lose your focus. Keep your eyes on the Great Savior and step toward him.

We are here, ready to join you in arms, but we need you to step out and join us. The enemy can’t stop us, but they can distract us, and they’ve distracted us for too long. Do not let them win this battle.

We failed, but it’s not too late. We can still win. We can still make a difference.

We are waiting for you, soldier.

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Welcome back to the fight. I’m here to help. Don’t wait another moment. Act now while the Holy Spirit is on fire within you. Act before the enemy can douse your flame and lure you back into your old way of living.

Please message me at philip_wilder_author@gmail.com or click here if you need some encouragement or if you need resources to help you step out to start reaching the lost with the good news of the gospel. I’ll lovingly help keep you accountable. Also, find a brother or sister and share this with them so that they too can join us in this war. Keep each other accountable so you will act. Right now, call that friend or family member who needs to hear that they can be restored back into a loving relationship with God by 1) believing that Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sins and 2) by asking him to save us from our sins. Do it now before you the enemy fills you with fear and excuses. Ask God for strength.

We are not alone. And we can play a critical part in winning this war.

If you need more encouragement, here’s another good resource to help you join the war: Wake Up O Sleeper

If you want more information on what this war is, check out this resource: The Only Noble War