Military Veterans Combat PTSD with faith

If you just read this and think it makes sense, you need to think a bit more deeply on the subject. The view of the military chaplains and Campus Crusades for Christ has always been the same, yet they never consider they very well could be wrong. Not wrong on believing Christ can heal or that faith can move mountains. The way they are wrong is in more how they are approaching PTSD and healing than anything else. If they were right on how they treat the servicemen and women, then the rates would have not been increasing. While the mission maybe correct, the plan is full of flaws.

First on the list should be to get them to understand the difference between being a victim of God's wrath and judgement vs being a survivor by His grace. If they view their relationship with God and Christ as being embraced by an ever merciful Father, then they walk away from trauma feeling as if He watched over them instead of doing it to them. If they believe God has abandoned them, then they lose hope and turn blame inward.

While God did not save the lives of all their friends, He did save some who returned home with missing limbs, burns and other serious wounds, and He also saved them. We don't know why God saves some and takes others home to His side. We do know that God's plans for us are always subject to our willingness and the actions of others getting in our way. God will not mess with freewill but He will come up with Plan B to get us to where He wants us to be if we are willing.

Second on the list is getting them to forgive themselves while understanding there is nothing they cannot be forgiven for because Christ paid the price. Christ forgave the people who nailed Him to the cross and called for Him to be crucified, yet some carry guilt over what they had to do and forget they are forgiven. They also forget that God created a warrior before He created man and that warrior is the archangel Michael. God knew there would always have to be warriors to defend against enemies. The bible is filled with warriors few remember as such when they are fondly remembered as just heroes of the bible.

Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, the list goes on of warriors and warfare in the ancient world. The spiritual struggles documented in the pages of the Old Testament and within the Psalms but many readers pass over these accounts. War is horrible, ugly and evil acts are committed. Many wonder where God is when they see the worst man is capable of forgetting that each and every man has freewill to do good or evil. They cannot see that God walks among them.

God is there when someone tries to save a life. God is there when someone weeps for the death of his enemy. God is there when someone kneels by the side of a fallen brother and cries out in anguish. God is there when someone shows compassion to their enemy. Above all that, God is there when any of them still retain compassion in their soul and grieve after being touched by so much horror.

There is so much they are not being told by their spiritual leaders in the military and even when they come home that it is reflected in the rise of suicides as well as attempted suicides. People do not go from being willing to die for the sake of their friends to being suicidal for no reason at all. It is a spiritual pain that has not been eased by those they have turned to for help.

Military Veterans Combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Faith

By U.S. Editor
Published: August 5, 2010

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. /Christian News/ — New studies are showing a disturbing trend in our nation’s military—as stress becomes an increasingly serious threat to the lives of our soldiers. The latest numbers paint a grim picture, especially when it comes to suicide rates. Last year, 347 military personnel were killed in two wars, but at least 381 current and former members of our military took their own lives.

Another alarming statistic that highlighted in a recent USA Today story shows that the number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has increased 64% from 2005 to 2009.

While much needs to be done to help our soldiers deal with the stress of combat, Major General (U.S. Army Ret.) Bob Dees believes faith should play a significant role in the military’s mental health and suicide prevention programs.
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Military Veterans