Hope Unseen

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23



     What kind of trial are you going through right now? Is it problems with your marriage, finances, job search, rebellious children, certain members of your church, or maybe just a problem with sin in your life, something you have had to struggle with and have not been able to overcome. There is hope, and that hope is in the name of Jesus. He is the only One who can meet your needs in the big problems and the little ones. Let me tell you a short story about a man and his wife who had a tremendous battle to fight that had nothing to do with sin or normal problems but, with the help of Jesus, and their strong faith in Him to get them through, they were able to overcome and claim victory.

    Scotty Smiley was a close friend of my son Adam at West Point. Along with Ed Graham and David Webb they did everything together as members of the Officer Christian Fellowship and as protestant Sunday School teachers. Any opportunity to get off campus and go to NYC or some other adventure you could find them together as the best of friends. Upon graduation, they went separate ways although David and Scotty managed to get assigned to the same unit and deployed to Iraq in 2004 both as Infantry platoon leaders in one of the Army's Stryker Brigades. (Unit was using armored wheeled vehicles called Strykers.)

   In December of that year they were operating out of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq and had suffered the loss of their company commander  and other soldiers, to a suicide bomber who managed to gain entrance to the mess tent. Scotty had left the tent 5 minutes before the attack and David had been present but was unhurt. The next few days would not be so fortunate for Scotty.

   Leading a patrol in the city two days later something happened that completely changed the life of Scotty in ways he and his wife could never have imagined. While on patrol in his Stryker, he spotted a car and driver acting in an erratic way as it came closer to the patrol. Scotty ordered the vehicle to stop and when it didn't he fired some rounds in front of it to warn it to come no closer. The driver stopped momentarily and then proceeded again. Before Scotty could fire again the man detonated a massive bomb rigged up in his car. Scotty was hit in the head with shrapnel and was an immediate casualty because he was in the hatch of the vehicle while the driver and soldiers inside the Stryker were unhurt except for minor concussion injuries.

     Scotty was immediately evacuated to the nearest medical unit that quickly determined that they did not have the ability to properly take care of him. They fixed him up as best as they could and then evacuated him by airplane to Frankfort Germany. There they worked hard to keep him alive and even removed a part of his skull so that his brain could expand without injury. He had lost both of his eyes. He would never see again. His wife was finally notified while he was in Frankfort and was able to come to his side although she could hardly recognize him in the myriad of bandages and tubes coming out of body.
   Thus started a long recovery process and many times the only thing they could rely on was their faith in the Creator of the Universe who has said to them: "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  But with the help of God and many faithful family members, friends, doctors, nurses, and assorted other organizations they pulled themselves through the physical, mental, and spiritual battles to victory.

     A short list of the things that Scotty has been able to accomplish with the help of God and his wife are these: Masters degree in business from Duke University, Leadership professor at West Point, Company Commander, skydiver, mountain climber, surfer, snow skier,  father of two sons, motivational speaker, Army ROTC Instructor at Gonzaga University, and Iron man triathlete! An impressive list of accomplishments, even for someone who has the use of their eyes. (The complete story of this magnificent struggle and the victory that Scotty and Tiffany gained is chronicled in the book: Hope Unseen by Scotty Smiley and Doug Crandall. There are also some youtube videos produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that you can access.)

   So again I ask you; what struggles are you going through right now? Are they bigger problems than Scotty and Tiffany were able to overcome with the help of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Look to Him today. Lean on Him. "Casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

Pray:

1. God help me to look to You today to help me with my struggles, with my pain, with my failures and my sin. Forgive me for not putting everything at your feet so that You might show me the way.
2. Help me to be faithful in praying for others that I know that are going through tough times and they need You as much or more than I do.
3. Help me to start tomorrow off by reading Your Holy Scriptures and spending more time in prayer for my burdens and the burdens of my family and friends.