{"id":45095,"date":"2009-05-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/soldier-experiences-protective-hand-of-god\/"},"modified":"2009-05-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-18T00:00:00","slug":"soldier-experiences-protective-hand-of-god","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/soldier-experiences-protective-hand-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldier Experiences Protective Hand of God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While serving in Iraq, Courtney Birdsey experienced the protective hand of God, forever changing her. She says:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>On one of [our] missions, my unit made a return trip to Samarra, north of Baghdad, to gather data. As we were leaving the town, the Humvee I was riding in approached a tank from behind. A soldier riding on the tank gave us an urgent &quot;turn around&quot; signal. We didn&#39;t hesitate to follow orders. We doubled back to Samarra, only to find ourselves surrounded by gunshots.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>All of us jumped out of our vehicle and took cover&mdash;some of us running ahead and some of us staying with the Humvee. I readied my weapon and hunkered down against the back corner of the Humvee. Amid the gunfire, a black BMW sped through the street at 70 miles per hour&mdash;the Iraqi passengers inside, pointing their guns through open windows, opened fire at any American soldier within range.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We exchanged shots, and suddenly the BMW careened, out of control, toward the Humvee where I was crouched. I could see the driver slumped over the steering wheel and knew I had only seconds to make a decision. With my heart pounding and unformed prayers racing in my mind, I ran to the front of the vehicle just before the car slammed into the very place I had been just seconds before.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We were told we would have to transfer the wounded in our own vehicle. In the background, completely incongruent to the battle I was facing, I could hear the droning of Muslim prayer chants over loudspeakers.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>My convoy was commanded to drive to an American safe house on the outskirts of town. The chanted prayers and the lamb-like groans of a dying man behind me echoed in my head. Finally we arrived at the safety of the compound. I looked down at my uniform, dirty and speckled with the blood of the wounded. I stepped out of the truck and dropped, shaking, to my knees, thanking God for our safety.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>After this encounter, my faith took on a deeper and more personal perspective. I had felt the protective hand of God as we returned to our base physically unscathed. For my remaining time in Iraq, I began to rely heavily on my constant communication with God. Praying without ceasing became, for me, as natural as breathing.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Finally, in April 2004, my unit returned home to Colorado Springs. As the National Anthem played over the loudspeaker celebrating our arrival, I felt the tears I had been unable to cry for months stinging my eyes. I thought of my love for this country, the safety of my military family still in Iraq, the loss of those I had known, and of my family waiting in the stands to greet me.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Now back home, I strive to readjust to my life. The pace seems so hurried now. No more endless waiting under the unbearable heat of the sun that rises at 4 A.M. I coach a girls&#39; high school softball team and encourage them in the sport I used to play. I try to capture a vision of my future by taking classes at a local college and working toward a degree. But it&#39;s not easy to move forward with five more years of my reserve duty still to go. There&#39;s always the underlying fear that I may be called back.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The visions and sounds of Iraq are never far from my thoughts. In many ways the experience there grew me up. I&#39;m not the same person, spiritually or emotionally, that I was before I left. I still suffer from nightmares&mdash;images that come alive in my sleep, especially after a stressful day. But each time I see or hear of events in Iraq, I am reminded of how God faithfully protected me. I know now, no matter what the future brings, I&#39;m never alone.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p class=\"is-style-article-source\"> <\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3389,3419,3421,3481,3621,3649,3731,3836,3921,3933,3943,4067,4084,4089,4099,4146,4229,4271,4400,4461,4519,4529,4563,4564,4618,4631,4671,4673,4679,4682,4699,4733,4734,4736,4737,4738,4739,4800,4905,5027,5049,5063,5198,5230,5260,5297],"tax_ctp_topics":[382,388],"class_list":["post-45095","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-adversity","tax_ctp_tags-answered-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-answers-to-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-believing-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-circumstances","tax_ctp_tags-compassion-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-danger","tax_ctp_tags-earnestness-in-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-experiencing-god","tax_ctp_tags-faith","tax_ctp_tags-faithfulness-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-god","tax_ctp_tags-goodness-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-grace-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-greatness-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-heroes","tax_ctp_tags-importance-of-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-international-day-of-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-love-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-mercy-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-national-day-of-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-need-for-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-omnipotence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-omnipresence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-pearl-harbor-day","tax_ctp_tags-persistence-in-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-power-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-power-of-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-prayer-to-god","tax_ctp_tags-presence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-protection","tax_ctp_tags-protection-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-providence","tax_ctp_tags-providence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-provision","tax_ctp_tags-provision-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-remembrance","tax_ctp_tags-see-you-at-the-pole","tax_ctp_tags-sovereignty-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-growth","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-transformation","tax_ctp_tags-trustworthiness-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-veterans-day","tax_ctp_tags-war","tax_ctp_tags-works-of-god"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Soldier Experiences Protective Hand of God - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/soldier-experiences-protective-hand-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soldier Experiences Protective Hand of God - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While serving in Iraq, Courtney Birdsey experienced the protective hand of God, forever changing her. 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