The Bible is rife with stories of God being the ultimate commander of the battlefield.
He led the Israelites through many successful campaigns against their enemies and kept them safe whenever His hand of protection was upon them. When the nation of Israel took up for themselves the pagan gods of their enemies, however, God removed His blessing from their battlefields and eventually the nations of Israel and Judah fell to their enemies.
From Joshua to Gideon to David, the might of the Lord was not just desired on the battlefield, it was required for victory.
America is now suffering through the same rebellion that ancient Israel went through prior to her collapse, and the once-mighty American military is feeling the repercussions.
According to a recent Gallup poll, confidence in the American military is at its lowest point in decades. Between all political affiliations, only 60% of Americans are confident in our military prowess.
“At 60%, confidence in the military was last this low in 1997, and it has not been lower since 1988, when 58% were confident. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s—during the Cold War and amid threats to U.S. power, including the Iran hostage crisis—between 50% and 58% of Americans were confident in the military,” Gallup reported.
In the political sphere, many would point to events such as the horrifically executed withdrawal from Afghanistan that cost the lives of American military members and unknown numbers of Afghanis who relied on the U.S. forces for protection from the Taliban. Others may point to the injection of radical gender, race and Marxist ideologies into the senior ranks of the military leadership. The nation’s top military academies no longer look for the best and the brightest, but instead fill diversity quotas and lecture cadets on critical race theory, instead of military tactics and overcoming obstacles on the battlefields.
While these both present shining examples of the ineptitude of bureaucrats now running the Department of Defense, the spiritual aspect to the military’s decline is by far the most important.
When Joshua first attempted to destroy the city of Ai without the Lord by his side, were his forces not soundly defeated by the city’s defenders? Sin had kept the Israelites from victory because Achan did not heed the Word of the Lord (Josh. 7).
When the sin had been dealt with, and Israel was again in right-standing with the Lord, heeding His instruction, they garnered victory upon the battlefield and took the city, completely destroying it (Josh. 8).
For America, the route of teaching hatred for the country and her past, her morals, her ideals, has raised a generation who show no interest in protecting her.
Military recruiting is suffering in every branch, and because of this, sub-standard recruits are being allowed in due to relaxed guidelines for entry. Compound this anti-American sentiment with the removal of God as our Protector on the battlefield, and things look bleak at best for any future military engagements.
If America is to have any hope of winning a future war, which many believe is inevitable, then repentance before the Lord must be the first course of action.
Without an acknowledgment and turning away from the sin that the country has committed against God, America’s military stands little chance against a potential enemy that seeks to overthrow her status as the world’s greatest nation.
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media, and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
