Today I attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. There are over 7000 American service personnel buried there, and the names of more than 3000 missing are engraved on the walls of the memorial. The service members were lost in operations in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Nettuno mostly between July 1943 – May 1944. They are the men and women who left their homeland and never returned.
It was a peaceful place, arcs of headstones laid out under umbrella pines. Two large flags fluttered at half-mast – one Italian and one American. My son commented, “That flag is almost as big as the one at Fort McHenry.”
Maybe it was the flags. Maybe I’m getting old. But when the US Navy band began to play “The Star Spangled Banner,” I started to cry.
“The Star Spangled Banner” was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 while the battle of Baltimore waged before him. The air was so smoke-filled from cannon fire, it was only the sight of the flag streaming over Fort McHenry and the continued fighting that reassured Key that the American forces had not given way.
Versions of this scene have played out before millions of men and women and even children. Every war is loud, chaotic, and confusing. It’s important to stop and ask how it’s going from time to time.
So today let me ask you – how’s the battle for your heart going? Do you feel as though you’re under a constant barrage? Are you wondering how it’s all going to turn out?
I have good news for you. There is no back and forth in the Kingdom of God. If you’ve joined the Lord’s side, your heart is territory that cannot change hands. No one will capture it against your will. No one will snatch it from His hand (John 10:28).
“What king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him?”
Luke 14:31
God is no fool. He will win every battle no matter the odds because He is undefeatable (Isaiah 14:27). The outcome is never in jeopardy. So as you take stock, also take comfort – the battle goes on precisely because you belong to the Lord. His banner of love still waves over you.