On my first night in the army in October 1940, I found myself in a barracks room with about fifty other soldiers. The Lord enabled me to kneel by the side of my cot and seek for strength to confess His name. Much to my surprise, there was no comment made to me from the others.
A dear brother had given me a text reading, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” By the grace of God it remained at the head of my bed in the barracks for the next four years. In 1944 I was sent overseas with a Canadian General Hospital Unit. I was paired with another Christian and enjoyed sweet times of fellowship with him over the Word of God.
After D-day our hospital acted as a casualty clearing station. Wounded soldiers were brought back from Normandy and sent to us. Generally, five days out of each week, we would receive a convoy of wounded and sick soldiers.
Late one night, I attended a wounded soldier and, as we had to do with each one, asked for his religion. He answered “Christian.” This was a very unusual answer, and so I asked him if he knew the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. What a beautiful smile came over his face in answer, while tears came to my eyes!
The Lord was very good to me in that I was never stationed at any time in a place where I could not get to the remembrance of the Lord in His death. In one of the first Service Newsletters I received from Jimmy Smith, he included a list of all the assemblies in England and their addresses. This enabled me to visit each one when I was given furloughs.
I found early in my tour of duty that it is by far the best to confess the name of the Lord right away. If you put it off, it only becomes more difficult. Most fears concerning confessing His name are groundless and never materialize. How true it is what the Lord said to Abraham, “Fear not . . . I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:11After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (Genesis 15:1)).
L. Judd